Taking Stock: Flightline and that Share

About an hour or so after one of 40 shares in Flightline, a son of Tapit and the Indian Charlie mare Feathered, was sold for an unimaginable $4.6 million in an historic special session at Keeneland Monday, Flightline was led out of his stall at Lane's End and posed behind the stallion barn, oblivious to the hubbub on the sales grounds about 10 miles away.

He's a stunning and athletic physical specimen, standing 16.2 hands, with length to go with height and balance. He's so well put together and pleasing to look at that at first glance no one single feature jumps out and grabs the eye, because all of him does at once, flooding the senses. But zoom in here and there and it's evident that the parts that make up the whole are of the finest quality: a well-defined and chiseled masculine shoulder with depth; strong forearms over clean and smooth limbs with short cannons; pasterns at exactly the right angles that are neither too short nor too long; a big hip and butt; and hind legs set perfectly underneath. He'd first caught the eye of Lane's End Bloodstock's David Ingordo as an early and unfinished yearling at breeder Jane Lyon's Summer Wind, and later that year, in August, was purchased by his current ownership group on Ingordo's advice for $1 million at Fasig-Tipton's marquee Saratoga sale.

It's evident that Flightline gets some of his looks from broodmare sire Indian Charlie, who also had size, strength, masculinity, and similar patterns of muscling, except Indian Charlie was slightly back at the knee and had rough ankles, neither of which plagues Flightline.

What stands out the most about Flightline is his mind and presence: he's non-plussed, intelligent, and kind. Here he was, two days after he'd clobbered a high-level field in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, calmly and confidently surveying his new home, and it's easy to understand how he overcame several mishaps and one major injury along the way and continued to train on with gusto and win at the highest levels.

At the moment, Flightline is being let down cautiously, spending time in a round pen when he's not in his stall. It's expected that by the end of next week he'll be in a paddock like the other studs at the farm, as he's transitioning quickly from a life of hard training at the track to an easier life on the farm for his next career as a stallion.

The Share

Flightline is owned by a 40-share syndicate, with Kosta Hronis and family controlling 15 shares; Lyon's Summer Wind, 10 shares; Terry Finley's West Point, seven shares; Bill Farish and partners' Woodford, four shares; and Anthony Manganaro's Siena Farm, four shares. Lane's End will get breeding rights for standing the horse, and a few others are in the hands of trainer John Sadler and David Ingordo.

The share–a 2.5% fractional interest–that was auctioned came from the West Point group, which is composed of seven individual partners with one share each (2.5% of 40 is one share). Some of them pooled portions of their fractional interests to form one share or 2.5% to offer at auction, and Freddie Seitz, as agent for an undisclosed Seattle-based owner and client with interests in the coffee business, held off underbidder Coolmore to secure the share for the $4.6 million, placing a “value” of $184 million on Flightline's head. In comparison, Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) had a book value of $75 million as a new sire just a few years ago.

The big share price is, of course, a trophy prize, and in the strictest sense it will not bear a direct relationship to his stud fee, which is $200,000 live foal–as much as the entering fees of American Pharoah, Ghostzapper, and Devil's Bag. At that fee, based on a four-year return and, say, a 160-mare cap, a traditional market value for a share would likely be about $2.8 to $3 million based on pure back-of-napkin math without expenses: two seasons each year (each shareholder gets two seasons) is $400,000, multiplied by four years, is $1.6 million; and on the back end, a bonus pool of $12 million a year (say 60 mares at $200,000 is $12 million), divided by 40 shares, is $300,000 per share per year, times four years, is $1.2 million. Extending this example over five years, a case could be made for $2 million in stud fee income and $1.5 million in bonus-pool money (assuming the stud fee stays the same), for a value of $3.5 million, plus depreciation. And there's also the possibility of added bonus-pool monies from expanding his book and from breeding Flightline at Lane's End on Southern Hemisphere time.

The Flightline syndicate, of course, is tightly held by the colt's original ownership group, which is to say that not many shares will become available. That scarcity–think of it as an illiquid market–means that the shares that do become available will be snapped up by those few that have the means to pay premium-plus, like the unnamed buyer at $4.6 million and the underbidder, Coolmore, at $4.5 million.

For such owners, that type of money may not be as outlandish as it seems to some. An entity like Coolmore, for example, could breed to Flightline a mare like Gamine, who was purchased for $7 million, and race the offspring, hoping to get a top-class winner. And if Flightline becomes a success at stud like undefeated Frankel, who will stand for about $315,000 in 2023, that would be money well spent in hindsight.

Betting on any unproven stallion is a gamble, but Flightline has the impeccable credentials to succeed as a stallion. Not only is he a son of the elite stallion Tapit, whose son Constitution will stand for $110,000 at WinStar in 2023, he's from a mare, Feathered, who won a Grade 3 race and placed three times in Grade I races, earning $577,474. Moreover, Feathered, who was bred by Teresa Viola, spouse of Vinny Viola (who has a Flightline share under the West Point umbrella), is from the sought-after Phipps family of Blitey/Lady Pitt and was purchased by Lyon in 2016 at Keeneland November for $2,350,000.

In other words, Flightline was bred to be a superstar, and he's that rare example of a horse that realized his lofty potential–and some.

Combine this pedigree with Flightline's exceptional looks, astonishing talent, and undefeated race record, and he is–as the share price reflected–the most desirable new prospect to enter the marketplace in a long time.

   Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: Flightline and that Share appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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INQUIRY Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: Favorite Road Music?

Working in the Thoroughbred industry means spending a lot of time on the road.

The logistics between racetracks, training centers, auctions, farms, and breeding sheds can give a person a lot of time behind the wheel, which leads to a lot of time listening to the radio.

In this edition of INQUIRY, we ask folks on the sales grounds what they're listening to while traveling from place to place with the question, “What is your favorite music for the road?”

Seth Gregory – Seth Gregory Bloodstock

“Country. I like a little bit of everything from old school guys like Hank Williams Sr. to '90s country, and some of the new stuff.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron Blake – Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services

“I listen to Bachata music. It's a Latin dance originated in the Dominican Republic. I Bachata myself, it's a dance. I go to the Dominican Republic three or four times a year, and it makes me feel like I'm down there.”

 

 

 

Mike Recio – South Point Sales Agency

“R&B and hip hop. I like Drake, Tupac, and I've always been a Notorious B.I.G. fan from back in the day. It's good party music, it's got a good feel and beat, and that's what the kids are listening to.”

 

 

 

 

Joe McMahon – McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds

“'60s on 6 on Sirius Radio. All the great bands were in the '60s – There were the Beatles of course, and Elvis had some great songs in the '60s. Herman and the Hermits, Tommy James and the Shondells.”

 

 

 

 

 

Freddie Seitz – Brookdale Sales

“Wilco. I've liked them ever since I was 20 years old, and they come out with great music all the time.”

 

 

 

 

Chris Bernhard – Hidden Lake Farm

“Probably corny 1990s pop music. I usually listen to the news or something else, so I rarely listen to music, but if I had to pop a CD out of the case, it's probably something that's been sitting in there for 15 years.”

The post INQUIRY Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: Favorite Road Music? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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INQUIRY: What Is The Greatest Race You’ve Seen In Person?

A horse race can be one of the best live sports experiences out there, and witnessing a truly great one can be the kind of thing that sticks with a person for a lifetime.

That's the thought on the minds of folks in this edition of INQUIRY, where we ask members of the bloodstock industry to reminisce on the “tell your grandchildren” moments they've been fortunate enough to see by posing the question, “What is the greatest race you've seen in person?

Seth Gregory – Seth Gregory Bloodstock

“That one's easy. The 1996 Dubai World Cup. I was fortunate enough to go be Cigar's groom for that race. I was Bill Mott's foreman at the time, and his groom couldn't go, so I went as his groom. It was a huge blast.”

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Recio – South Point Sales

“John Henry's Arlington Million. I became a John Henry fan for the rest of my life. He came from humble beginnings, was a gelding and tried every time, and it was a special story.”

 

 

 

Jimbo Gladwell – Top Line Sales

“We won the South Florida Derby at Hialeah Park a few years ago with a Quarter Horse we bred, and that was pretty exciting when you own them and have raised them. Her name was Ima Gator Fan. Me and some buddies chartered a little plane and flew down from Gainesville, and it was like living like rockstars.”

 

 

Chris Bernhard – Hidden Lake Farm

“I would have to say the Travers that Arrogate won. I'm just in awe of the horse. We got a nice mare to Arrogate, and you just watched him show up, shipping all over the country, and it was cool to be in his presence.”

 

 

 

Joe McMahon – McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds

“Jaipur and Ridan in Saratoga in the 1962 Travers was a real classic. Alydar and Affirmed was really good at Saratoga (1978 Travers). They were just outstanding matches, those four.”

 

 

 

 

Freddie Seitz – Brookdale Farm

“It has to be the 2012 Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another. It was easily the greatest racing day I've ever been to.”

The post INQUIRY: What Is The Greatest Race You’ve Seen In Person? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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