With Triple-Digit Beyer, Sky’s The Limit for Flightline

The fastest 3-year-old in training will not be found in the field for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby.

In one of the most impressive debuts turned in by a 3-year-old colt in years, 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) not only won Saturday's maiden special weight at Santa Anita by 13 1/4 lengths, he earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure (video). Based on the numbers, that makes him faster than any of the 20 horses lining up for the Derby. His stablemate, Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}), earned a 100 Beyer when winning the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, which gives him the only triple digit Beyer number in the expected field. Life Is Good (Into Mischief) earned a 107 when winning the GII San Felipe S., but has been sidelined.

“We really thought the world of him, but you never really know until they get on the racetrack,” said co-owner Kosta Hronis. “He travels really well. He makes it look really easy and he kind of floats over the track. He does things effortlessly. We think he has a bright future and looks like a special colt.”

Flightline broke on top in his debut and reeled off an opening quarter-mile in :21.59 seconds, but seemed to be going easily. With Flavien Prat aboard, he started to draw away on the turn and kept extending his lead, even though Prat wrapped up on him well before the wire. His final time for the six furlongs was 1:08.75.

“Flavien said he really did it so easily and that he was not even breathing hard,” Hronis said.

Hronis Racing owns Flightline along with Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing.

Due to the belated debut, Flightline is not in line to run in any of the Triple Crown races. The major summer stakes for 3-year-olds could be on his schedule, but Hronis said that the owners and trainer John Sadler have not mapped out any plans for their rising star.

“He runs so fast, so we'd like to keep things spaced out,” Hronis said. “Since it was just his first race, we'll just see when he's ready to come back. When he's ready to go, I'm sure we can find a 3-year-old colt race where he will fit right in. But, no, we don't really have anything targeted at this point.”

Flightline, a $1-million purchase from the Lane's End consignment at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, suffered through a setback last year just prior to when he was scheduled to be sent to Sadler's Santa Anita barn, the reason why he didn't debut until Saturday.

“About a week before he was scheduled to come to California, he cut himself,” Hronis said. “He has a scar on his butt on his right hind. They had to stitch him up. It was just something that happened at the barn and nobody really knows what happened or how he did it. But that set him back. Because we always thought he was a special colt, we gave him 60 days off to let him heal up right.”

Had Sadler been more aggressive, he might have been able to get Flightline to the races in January or February, which would have given him enough time to make the Derby. Hronis said that was not anything the connections ever considered.

“That's just not our style,” he said. “We like to be really patient and let the horse tell us when they are ready. Would having him in the Derby be fun? Yes, it would have, but at same time you don't want to do anything to jeopardize their careers. It is the Sadler-Hronis philosophy. We like to be patient and let the horse tell us when they are ready to go. We're never going to push them.”

Over the last many years, the Hronis Brothers have been among the most successful owners in the sport, but most of their biggest wins have come with older horses. Rock Your World will be their first Kentucky Derby starter.

“We bought a lot of nice yearlings in the past, like [Eclipse Award and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner] Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky),” Hronis said. “They just came around a little slower. Rock Your World developed and matured a little faster than ones we've had in the past. We haven't changed our buying or training philosophy. These ones just happened to come along faster than ones we've had in the past. To get a 3-year-old to be able to run a mile-and-a-quarter the first week in May is not easy.”

Bloodstock agent David Ingordo said he had had his eye on him for some time before signing the ticket at Saratoga.

“Lane's End handles a lot of the sales for Jane Lyon out at Summer Wind,” said Ingordo. “We went out shortly after some of her yearlings turned a year old, in February or March of their yearling year and they were showing us a chestnut Tapit colt out of American Pharoah's dam who turned out to be Triple Tap. And there was a chestnut and a bay, and I kept looking at the bay, and they said you need to look at the chestnut, because the bay is the one she's thinking about keeping. We went back a few times through the spring, and the bay one was the one I always liked.”

Fast-forward to August, and Ingordo was on a Tex Sutton plane with a load of horses when they hit turbulence.

“The guys asked if I could go back and grab a horse, so I grabbed the first horse and I was standing there and I looked at him and said, 'oh, there you are.' I only realized he was there when I was holding him on the plane. He was an expensive colt, but it all worked out in the end.”

Spending $1 million on a yearling is also something that hasn't been in the Hronis playbook.

“We spent that much money because we knew we were going to partner up,” Hronis said. “The seven figures was not just us. We would never do that by ourselves. It's too big of a risk. I've seen a lot of $1-million horses in $20,000 claiming races. The fact that the breeder, Summer Wind, stayed in is important. That showed that they believed in him, too. When you have partners like we do, it's easier to absorb that kind of horse.”

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Out Of The Weeds: Rock Your World Wins Santa Anita Derby In Main Track Debut

Although he was two for two on grass, Rock Your World had one big question to answer on Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.:  Would he run as well on dirt?  Question answered, as he dominated nine rivals en route to a rousing 4 ¼-length win in the 84th running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby.  Ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by John Sadler, the 3-year-old colt by Candy Ride, who was bred by Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally and his wife Debbie, got a mile and one eighth in 1:49.17.

With longshot Parnelli and favored Medina Spirit gunning for the early lead as expected, Rispoli appeared to take his measure of the competition heading into the clubhouse turn, allowing his mount  to get into stride, which he did, taking command into the turn and from there, dictating terms throughout.

With a three-quarter-length advantage on both Parnelli and Medina Spirit at the half mile pole, Rock Your World got stronger as the race progressed, chugging through splits of :22.42, :46.11, 1:10.64 and 1:36.27.  Although both Parnelli and Medina Spirit were “all-in” a quarter mile out, the Derby was essentially over as none of the others could make up any ground through the lane.

“We have been laying in the weeds,” said Sadler, who bagged his second Runhappy Santa Anita Derby.  “I thought it would be good to start this horse off on the turf, much like Omaha Beach, and develop.  The plan was to run him a couple of times on the turf and now it was time to get the points.  We gotta get the points to get to Kentucky.

“…The post (position) dictated our strategy.  I saw Umberto in the paddock this morning at 8 a.m. and I told him 'Go big or go home.'  We had to get out of there with the scratch inside (of number one Roman Centurian) of us.  It worked out great and I'm very excited.”

A handy winner of the ungraded Pasadena Stakes going a mile on turf Feb. 27, Rock Your World was off at 5-1 and paid $12.40, $4.60 and $3.40.

Owned by Hronis Racing, LLC or Talla Racing, LLC, Rock Your World is out of the McAnally's Empire Maker mare Charm the Maker.  With the winner's share of $450,000, Rock Your World increased his earnings to $546,600 and is now unbeaten in three starts.

Favored at 4-5, Medina Spirit appeared to have a perfect trip while second-best, finishing 2 ¼ lengths in front of Medina Spirit.  Ridden by John Velazquez, Medina Spirit paid $2.80 and $2.20.

“The horse ran well, but the winner took the lead on a fast track and kept running,” said Velazquez. “My horse kept coming and kept coming but couldn't catch up. He did have some left in the tank at the end and he kept coming, but the other horse got away pretty well and opened up again. It was too hard to catch up.”

Ridden by Flavien Prat, Dream Shake was forwardly placed throughout, but never threatened for the win.  Off at 9-2, he paid $2.80 to show.

“We had a good trip and it was a bit, you know, drawing gate side was not the best spot but the horse was travelling well and the race went well,” said Prat.

With 170 Kentucky Derby qualifying points at stake, Rock Your World will receive 100, with 40, 20 and 10 points awarded to the second, third and fourth place finishers.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

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Hall Of Fame Trainer McAnally Also Making His Mark As Breeder

In addition to his voluminous resume as the Hall of Fame conditioner of the legendary gelding John Henry, top mares Bayakoa, Paseana and so many other Grade 1 winners, Ron McAnally is also relishing his role as a Thoroughbred breeder of note. He and wife Debbie rang in the New Year on Friday as proud breeders of maiden special weight winner Rock Your World, a first-time starter who sped to an impressive 1 ¾-length win in Friday's ninth race at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., stopping the clock in a rapid 1:08.47 for six furlongs on turf.

Purchased by Kosta Hronis for $650,000 as a Keeneland September Yearling, Rock Your World is out of McAnally's Empire Maker mare Charm the Maker and is by Candy Ride, who McAnally saddled to win the 2003 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.  Trained by John Sadler, Rock Your World was off as the 2-1 favorite with Joel Rosario and paid $6.60 to win.

“We've got the whole family,” said McAnally, on Saturday morning.  “The mare is back in foal to Candy Ride and we've got a 2-year-old full brother coming in next month to my barn here at Santa Anita.  This colt's (Rock Your World) full sister (newly turned 5-year-old She's Our Charm)  just ran third in the Frankel the other day (Grade 3 Robert J. Frankel on Dec. 27) and the mare (Charm the Maker) has a yearling filly in Kentucky by Into Mischief.

So although at age 88, Ron McAnally is no longer contending for training titles, he's still very much “All-In” with plenty to look forward to as 2021 unfolds.

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Gift Box Retired To Stand At Lane’s End In 2021

Grade 1 winning millionaire Gift Box has been retired from racing and will begin his new career as a stallion at Lane's End starting in 2021.

The colt retires as a Grade-1 and three-time graded stakes winner with a record of 18-6-6-2 from the ages of two to six. In 2019, Gift Box was among the leading older horses in America after a string of graded stakes performances that included a Grade 1 victory in the Santa Anita Handicap. He retires as the highest-earning colt by his leading sixth-crop sire Twirling Candy. He will join his sire, along with his grandsire Candy Ride, who both also stand at Lane's End.

“Gift Box was an incredibly talented and consistent racehorse,” said John Sadler. “We ran him back-to-back in graded stakes race after graded stakes race and he was only ever off the board once. These are attributes you do not often see in the modern racehorse. He had speed, toughness, sound enough to race on in the handicap division, everything a trainer wants in a two-turn dirt horse.”

As a 2-year-old Gift Box broke his maiden at Belmont posting a 93 Beyer before targeting the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in his next start, where he was beaten by just three lengths into third. In doing so, he became a graded stakes performer in just his third start as a 2-year-old.

Gift Box opened his 3-year-old campaign with a victory in a competitive allowance race at Belmont by 4 1/2 lengths, posting a 98 Beyer. His next start that year came in the Curlin Stakes where he was defeated by subsequent Grade 1 winner Connect. Just a month later he finished fourth in the G1 Travers at Saratoga to Champion Arrogate, defeating Grade 1 winners Connect, Creator and Exaggerator.

“Gift Box represents so much of what we're about at Lane's End. A Grade 1 winner at a mile and a quarter on the dirt, speed, out of a tremendous mare from a sire line we believe in,” said Bill Farish. “That's what we've been successful with and I'm appreciative of the opportunity Hronis Racing has given us.”

Gift Box's career hit new heights as an older horse when he got a much-deserved graded stakes victory in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita defeating Grade 1 winner Battle of Midway. This race was the first of four further graded stakes starts that only saw Gift Box off the board once. His next start came in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap where he defeated four-time Grade 1 winner McKinzie. In his next start he finished second in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, posting a 105 Beyer before winning the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes in his final start by almost 4 lengths, posting a career high 107 Beyer. Gift Box posted four triple-digit Beyers in a career that saw three graded stakes victories.

“Gift Box was always involved in races of the highest level and as owners we could not ask any more than that,” said Kosta Hronis. “John [Sadler] always had a tremendous amount of confidence in him, and time and time again Gift Box proved him right. We are going to stay involved in his next career as a stallion at Lane's End, where they have a proven track record of nurturing a young stallion's career.”

Bred by Craig and Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall, Gift Box was a $135,000 Keeneland November purchase. He is out of the Unbridled's Song mare Special Me. His pedigree is free of Storm Cat and A.P. Indy which will be appealing to breeders as both have been a proven success with Candy Ride and Twirling Candy, producing the likes of Grade 1 winner Collusion Illusion.

Gift Box will be syndicated and available for inspection in the coming weeks at Lane's End Farm and a stud fee will be determined.

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