Flightline | Horse Racing Free Tips

Unbeaten Sensation Flightline ‘Ready to Go’ for Met Mile

The unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit) has been cleared for takeoff.

Last seen making it a perfect three-for-three with a gaudy 118 Beyer Speed Figure in Santa Anita's GI Runhappy Malibu S. Dec. 26, Flightline will launch his highly anticipated 4-year-old campaign in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. on the completely stacked GI Belmont S. undercard June 11.

“We're at that stage where he's all ready,” trainer John Sadler said. “He's doing really well. He hasn't missed a beat. We just have to get to next week and get a decent ship in to New York. He'll be there midday Tuesday. He's ready to go.”

Flightline has won his first three career starts–all in Southern California–by a combined margin of a staggering 37 1/2 lengths. A no-brainer 'TDN Rising Star' on debut in Arcadia Apr. 24, he followed up with another jaw-dropping victory in an optional claimer at Del Mar Sept. 5, good for a 114 Beyer Speed Figure.

He dominated his six rivals in front-running fashion by 11 1/2 lengths while making his stakes debut in the Malibu. Distant third-place finisher Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) has since finished third in both the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. and GI Santa Anita H. and captured the GII Californian S. Apr. 30, respectively.

After suffering a minor setback in February, Flightline was forced to miss an intended start in the GII San Carlos S. at Santa Anita Mar. 5.

“He was going for a race in March and he had a little bit of a hock issue,” Sadler said. “We did the diagnostics on him and it didn't show anything too severe. It's just that he needed a little time. The timing was bad, but it was nothing that should compromise him going forward. We gave him a little time to get over that and now he's training lights out. If you look at his work pattern, it's really in good shape.”

Flightline has posted eight breezes since returning to the worktab Apr. 10. He covered five furlongs in :59.80 (2/23) beneath regular rider Flavien Prat at Santa Anita May 30. He is slated to breeze again Sunday before heading to the Big Apple.

“My assistant Juan Leyva has spent a lot of time with him,” Sadler said. “He works and gallops him. With him, it's always like, 'How do you ride a hurricane?' Juan's been working with him and getting him to relax. We had the time to do it, but it's not like we're doing anything different. It looks like he's a lot more settled in the mornings now. And we've got him going off nice and easy in his works, too. I'm really pleased.”

He added, “We'll probably go a half in :48 on Sunday and then come on over.”

The Met Mile will mark Flightline's first start beyond seven furlongs. Streaking Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), a visually impressive winner of the GI Carter H.; and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Aloha West (Hard Spun) are also expected to line up for the highly coveted stallion-making race.

“I think he'll love it,” Sadler said of the added distance. “Sometimes, the misconception is that with really fast horses, the farther they go, they're not as good. But if you've watched any of his races, he looks like nothing but a fresh horse at the wire. And it's a one-turn mile, so it should really be well within his wheelhouse.”

Sadler continued, “The harder questions are some of the stuff we haven't answered yet. How does he ship, new environment and those kind of things. But as far as all the things I can control, I couldn't be more pleased.”

Campaigned in partnership by the powerhouse line-up of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, breeder Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing, Flightline brought $1 million as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. He is out of the GSW & MGISP mare Feathered (Indian Charlie), a granddaughter of MGISW Finder's Fee (Storm Cat). Feathered brought $2.35 million from Summer Wind at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale.

“It would be tremendous–there's no question about the stallion potential of this horse and what this race would mean for him,” Sadler said. “Also for his cache, it would be great to win outside of California. We're excited. I'm not going to get too excited though because we've got a ways to go. But right now, he's doing beautifully.”

Races like the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga Aug. 6 or GI TVG Pacific Classic S. Sept. 3 could be in play this summer for Flightline with a long-term eye on the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 5.

Sadler concluded, “Sky's the limit. I've never had one like this horse.”

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Terry Finley Talks OBS March, Next Start for Flightline On Writers’ Room

Shortly before purchasing eight horses on the first day of the OBS March Sale, West Point Thoroughbreds CEO Terry Finley joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday morning as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about the strength of the sales market, trying to find the perfect formula in analyzing and purchasing horses at auction, the latest with superstar Flightline (Tapit) and much more.

“There is no secret sauce, and we bring that up to prospective partners all the time, to acknowledge something that's obvious to all of us who have been in the game.” Finley said about buying sale horses. “There's a small segment of the group of horses that are going to be sold [this week] that, on the surface, are obvious. They put everything together–they pass the vet, they work really, really well. Those, you don't really have to think a whole lot about. But the vast majority of them are in the middle … Some consignors, if you see a :10 1/5 [furlong breeze] and know their history and the way they bring these horses to market, you know that might be very, very good. Then you see somebody else with a bevy of :9 4/5s and they have a horse breeze :10 2/5, that's a factor. You talk about the way they come away from the pole. There are some of them that don't come away from the eighth pole as quickly as they probably could have, so :10 2/5 on top of a good gallop-out is going to pick our heads up. You look at the way they've come out of the breezes and the way they're acting because they've got a lot of stress on them. There are so many things that come into play. It's a beautiful game, and you've always got to continue to improve your process.”

Finley was later asked for an update on undefeated supernova Flightline, who is three-for-three, with each performance more devastating than the next, but missed a planned start in Saturday's GII San Carlos S. Mar. 5 due to a strain in a hock.

“As much as everybody else, we'd love to run him more,” Finley said. “It's just the circumstances. He's not an unsound horse by any stretch. He just strained a hock and that took him out of training for three-and-a-half, four weeks, but he's back at the racetrack and he's just about ready to turn around and start galloping. We'll be there in New York on Belmont Stakes day for the Met Mile, and we can't wait. We'd love for it to be as solid a field as possible, because I think when he runs against those better horses and is successful, the aura around him continues to grow. It'll be a long, long wait between now and late in the day on Belmont day, but we just hope the wait is worth it. It's an honor to be associated with a horse like this. Anybody that buys horses and plays the game, they see the Justifys, the American Pharoahs and you dream about, 'What does that feel like?' I asked myself on a continuous basis, 'When is it going to be our time?' Horses do so much for us, and when you get one like this, it's a very, very special feeling. He could be one of the ones they talk about 100 years from now. And that just puts a smile on your face.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, West Point Thoroughbreds, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, Lane's End, Canterbury Park, XBTV and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers discussed the state of the GI Kentucky Derby trail, D. Wayne Lukas's decision to try filly Secret Oath (Arrogate) against males in the GI Arkansas Derby, Churchill running the GI Arlington Million card in Louisville this summer and more. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Unbeaten Flightline Back in Training

Undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' and jaw-dropping GI Runhappy Malibu S. winner Flightline (Tapit) returned to the track at Santa Anita Saturday after a strain in his hock forced him to miss a planned start in Saturday's GII San Carlos S.

“He jogged a mile which is pretty routine,” trainer John Sadler said. “We think his setback is over and he's back to training.”

Flightline, campaigned in partnership by the powerhouse line-up of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing, made it a perfect three-for-three with an 11 1/2-length victory while making his stakes debut in the Dec. 26 Malibu.

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Brian Lynch Talks Classic Causeway, John Sadler Gives Flightline Update On Writers’ Room

Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper's Classic Causeway stamped himself as a major GI Kentucky Derby contender Saturday when convincingly taking the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Brian Lynch, and Tuesday, Lynch joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland. Sitting down with Joe Bianca and Bill Finley as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Lynch talked about his colt–one of the final horses by late superstar sire Giant's Causeway–provided updates on other top horses in his barn, reminisced about his time spent as an assistant for Bobby Frankel and more.

“I thought I might have dodged the [GIII] Holy Bull into a tougher spot, once it had all come out on paper,” Lynch said of the Sam Davis. “Because it looked like it was a pretty competitive race and a lot of horses wanted to be forwardly placed and that was the way I'd seen him running his race. When I walked into the paddock, it was a really good-looking group of 3-year-olds. But then when he walked in, I thought, 'Ah, I'm OK.' He looked great. When that :22 and change came up [for the first quarter] and they straightened for the run down the backside, I could see [jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s] body language telling me, 'I'm cruising. I'm comfortable. This [other horse] is hanging on to me, but I've got plenty of horse.' When we got halfway around the far turn, you could see them all try and edge up on him, but Irad still hadn't moved a finger. So that gave me plenty of confidence that he had some horse for his run down the lane.”

Asked about his time working for the legendary Frankel, Lynch said, “I trained for a lot of years out in California on my own and I'd known Bobby for many, many years before I went to work for him. I trained for Golden Eagle Farm, and when Mr. [John] Mabee died, Bobby said to me, 'They're going to downsize that operation, you need to come work for me. We've got a lot of 2-year-olds coming in here.' He talked me into coming out to Saratoga and taking a string of horses for him there. And every day, I think of what a blessing that was. It was my best move. He exposed me to a lot of good clients and a lot of good horses. When I think back, Bobby was probably not the greatest teacher, but if you were around him and didn't learn a lot, shame on you. He had that sixth sense, and he was all about the horse first. It was just a great experience to be around him for so many years, and it gave me a good feel for how to manage horses, how to get them to the races and how to keep them around.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV, Lane's End, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the hosts welcomed John Sadler to give an injury update on his barn superstar Flightline (Tapit) and held their annual 3-year-old fantasy draft. Click here for the video podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The post Brian Lynch Talks Classic Causeway, John Sadler Gives Flightline Update On Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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