Tag: west point thoroughbreds

Sadler on Flightline: ‘The History is Yet to be Written’

It's been a long time since I have been up at `dark thirty', but here I find myself happily strolling into Santa Anita Park at 4:30 in the morning–a far cry from nearly 10 years ago when I was galloping horses and would find myself running late whilst popping an Altoid and three Advil to quell the night-before activities.

But here I am. Why?

Because I asked John Sadler for a Flightline (Tapit) interview and of course, Flightline trains at 5 a.m.

After a morning of carrots, coffee, and horses, I sat down with John and posed the question: After the likes of Cost of Freedom, Lady of Shamrock, Twirling Candy, Sidney's Candy, Gift Box, Flagstaff, Higher Power, Stellar Wind and Accelerate, has Sadler trained a horse quite as simply brilliant as Flightline?

“I really haven't,” Sadler said on a lazy, uncommonly-cloudy Monday at his barn under the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains. “He's probably the best horse I've ever trained. He's an amazing, special kind of horse that you get once in a lifetime, and I'm thrilled to have him.”

Flightline, of course, received Beyer Speed Figures of 105, 114 and 118 over his three lifetime starts. The latter, in the GI Runhappy Malibu S., was the highest given out this year. To put that into perspective, likely Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter) got a 112 Beyer in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and Life is Good (Into Mischief) got a 109 in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

So, what makes him so brilliant?

“He's so well-proportioned,” said Sadler. “He's powerful. He's correct. He's got everything you like. He's got that inner stallion, which I love. He's got it all.”

The sun finally began to peek across the mountains, reminding me I was up before it. I asked Sadler, “Why train him at 5 a.m.?”

“I think the track is best early,” Sadler said matter-of-factly. “It has a little more moisture in it, especially in the summer. Moisture is the key. We just think the surface is so good. So, a lot of them go in the first set. Stellar Wind loved to go in the first set. Accelerate went early. And then, they go out later when they work. I don't like to work in the dark.”

Lest one think some Sadler horses never see the light of day, never get the sun on their backs, they are all walked outside in the afternoon, something Flightline loves, Sadler said.

So much was made in the lead up to the Malibu, I asked John how he was feeling. He said he got the flu–yes, people still get that, and not just the Coronavirus.

Flightline, on the other hand, was gearing up for his final work with Flavian Prat, an odd move at the time as he had appeared hard to handle for assistant Juan Leyva in his work the week before. Holding an elephant from water comes to mind.

Flightline rolls to an 11 1/2-length victory in the 2021 GI Runhappy Malibu S. | Benoit

So, why let Prat drive the Ferrari the week before the biggest test of his young career?

“It seems Prat can turn him on and off like a switch,” said Sadler. “Yeah, that's why I put him on for his last work. You know you really must have a lot of trust to let somebody work him, and he's been on him a few times now and he gets him to relax in the morning.”

Flightline, of course, did not disappoint in the Malibu. So, what's next and who does Sadler compare him to?

“I think the comparisons come a little later as he does more. But you know, even after his first couple of races the comparables were Uncle Mo and Into Mischief. We will get some good tests down the road. At some point we will run into Todd [Pletcher]'s Life is Good, probably in the Met Mile. That will be exciting. The history is yet to be written on a lot of this.”

So, the plan right now with no hiccups, explained Sadler, “is one race to be determined before the Met Mile, then either the GI Pacific Classic S. or the GI Whitney S., then the Breeders' Cup.”

In other words, a Horse-of-the-Year campaign.

So, what kind of a personality does a potential Horse of the Year have?

“He's a bit of a live wire, you know,” said Sadler. “He's very bright. He's no deadhead. He's a very awake horse so we try to manage that. He will stand on the racetrack with the pony before he goes off and gallops. He's pretty good in the stall, but if there is a large bang, look out!”

When Flightline came out of his stall for pictures, the ever-reserved Sadler loudly exclaimed, “Look at that mother-humper. Is he not a gorgeous-looking horse?”

Flightline struck a pose; ears pricked, head up with that look of eagles. As Sadler's staff nervously looked on, he finally handed his assistant, Leyva, the shank. “Photo time is over,” he said. “Let's get him in. They are worried I will turn him loose.”

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Mayberry Farm’s Stars of Today and Tomorrow

Flightline (Tapit) showed that he was fast from the start with his 13 1/4-length, 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut, but he proved his status as an elite talent in his most recent jaw-dropping performance when he passed the wire on cruise control in the GI Runhappy Malibu S., winning by 11 ½ lengths and earning a 118 Beyer speed figure.

The impressive colt's ownership group of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing has undoubtedly spent much of this new year celebrating their star's unforgettable sophomore season while waiting in anticipation for his next start.

Meanwhile another one of Flightline's connections is also looking forward to what the colt could accomplish in 2022 while reminiscing on the impact he made during his short time with her.

April Mayberry, whose Mayberry Farm broke and trained the son of Tapit, has watched with pride as Flightline displayed the extraordinary talent she always thought he could have.

“It gives me chills to watch him,” Mayberry said. “To think that you were one of the first people to think that ability was in there and then to see it come true is a really cool feeling.”

Flightline arrived at Mayberry Farm in 2019 after selling to West Point Thoroughbreds for $1 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“When he first came in, he was such an impressive-looking horse,” Mayberry recalled. “He was already 16 hands. When we started the breaking process, it crossed my mind that maybe he had already been started because he was so quiet. Everything he did was easy. He came like a ready-made horse. There was no learning curve with him because he already knew it all somehow.”

Mayberry said the young colt had a certain air about him suggesting that he already had an idea of just how special he was. She recalled how he would stop by the clocker's stand each morning before heading back to the barn after a workout so that he could pose for any onlookers.

“He was one of those horses, and there have only been a few in my lifetime, where if they ever started speaking to you, you would just answer them,” she said. “It wouldn't be like, 'Wow this horse is talking to me.' You would just answer him. He was that kind of horse–super intelligent and classy in everything he did.”

$1.7 million City of Light colt out of Anchorage | Katie Petrunyak

While Mayberry noticed the bay's clever personality from the start, it wasn't until he started breezing that she knew his ability was outstanding as well.

“I always thought that he was probably a really nice horse, but the first day we kind of let him pick it up a little bit, that sealed the deal,” she said.

Shortly after Flightline began breezing, agent David Ingordo dropped in for a visit. Mayberry remembers standing trackside and waiting for Flightline to appear when they heard a commotion coming from the barn.

“David and I went back to the barn to see what the holdup was and found that Flightline had decided to cut his hind end on the stall door,” Mayberry explained. “It was a take-your-breath-away, what-are-we-going-to-do injury, but we were pretty sure everything was going to be fine after the vet came and stitched him up.”

For weeks, the Mayberry Farm team tended to Flightline's injury daily and looked after the colt through long days of stall rest.

“This horse never turned a hair,” Mayberry recalled. “A lot of times with injuries in horses, a lot is up to the horse in whether they're a good patient or not. That's a big part of the battle. But he knew everyone was there to help him.”

After two months, the injury had healed and Flightline returned to training as if he had never had a day off. With an almost-imperceptible scar on his hind end, Flightline was sent to John Sadler and thrived in his training there just as he had in Ocala.

While the team at Mayberry missed their talented prodigy after he shipped out California, it wasn't long before his spot was filled by another colt who stepped onto the farm with similarly-high expectations ahead of him.

Last fall, a City of Light yearling arrived in Ocala and, in a situation that was purely happenstance according to Mayberry, was given the very same stall that Flightline once occupied.

This young colt out of the stakes-placed Tapit mare Anchorage was the 2021 Keeneland September Sale topper, purchased by Woodford Racing, Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds for $1.7 million.

“He is another one where he's just a cool dude,” Mayberry said. “He's extremely classy and quiet. He takes a nap every day and does everything you ask of him. He has all the qualities that I as a trainer would like to see in a horse moving forward.”

Mayberry Farm has three more newly-turned 2-year-olds who were purchased by partnerships that include West Point Thoroughbreds. They have a second City of Light juvenile, this one a filly out of Miss Mo Kelly (Congrats) purchased for $500,000, as well as two Justify colts–one out of Flaming Heart (Touch Gold) purchased for $675,000 and the other, a son of stakes producer True Feelings (Latent Heat), was the third highest-priced yearling of the 2021 Keeneland September Sale, selling to Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds for $1.55 million.

“The True Feelings colt was a little peppier in his step at first,” Mayberry said. “He was very full of himself and was very confident. Once he was broke and got on the track, he really calmed down and looks like he enjoys his training.”

Mayberry said that over the years, she has learned that the key to bringing up these young horses is to make sure they are enjoying their job.

April Mayberry and the Justify colt out of Flaming Heart | Katie Petrunyak

“Our philosophy is that we let the horse tell us,” she explained. “If you listen, they'll let you know what they need. I think the happier they are, the more they'll do for you. If we can make everything easy for them, the rest falls into place like it's supposed to.”

April Mayberry, a fourth-generation horsewoman, runs Mayberry Farm alongside her mother Jeanne and sister Summer. The farm opened in 2000 and since then, their list of superstar graduates has turned into more of a book.

Their first big name was champion Zenyatta, who Mayberry describes as independent, intelligent and a filly that was driven by both sleep and snacks. The 2010 Horse of the Year was soon followed by Grade I winners Exaggerator and Texas Red. Mayberry Farm's 2017-foaled graduates include recent GII San Antonio S. winner Express Train (Union Rags) as well as GISW and Lane's End sire Honor A.P. (Honor Code). Along with several successful stallions, many of their past trainees have made a name for themselves as broodmares, including Bubbler (Distorted Humor), the dam of champion Arrogate, and Authenticity (Quiet American), the dam of new Hill 'n' Dale sire Charlatan.

Mayberry said that as she looks back on their most successful graduates, she can put her finger on one common thread.

“I've been around a lot of good horses in my day,” she said. “The one thing they all have in common is intelligence. They have to want to do it. They can have all the ability in the world, but if they don't want to do it, they're not going to and you can't make them. The key is getting them to want to do it and most of the time, it's natural.”

Mayberry can't pick an all-time favorite trainee, but she is confident that their most recent star graduate is one they will never forget.

“I don't like to compare horses because they're all different, whether it's in ability, personality or looks, but Flightline is exactly what you're looking for,” she said. “When he stepped foot onto the track for the first time, he made you smile. That's why we do what we do-for horses like him.”

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For Bloodstock Agent Ingordo, Flightline Always Had The ‘It’ Quality

Halley's Comet comes around once in a lifetime. Someday, the same might be said of Flightline.

In three starts, the 3-year-old colt by Tapit has won by a combined 37 ½ lengths, going six furlongs in 1:08.75 in his debut, the same distance in 1:08.05 next out, and then racing seven furlongs in 1:21.37 while winning the Grade 1 Runhappy Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday's opening day of the winter-spring meet. Jockey Flavien Prat was like a statue down the lane as Flightline won under wraps by 11 ½ lengths for trainer John Sadler.

His Beyer Speed Figures were 105, 114 and 118, respectively. The latter is the highest Beyer Speed Figure given to any horse this year, according to Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman.

“That puts this horse in a different stratosphere,” said West Point Thoroughbreds' CEO Terry Finley, one of Flightline's owners.

An hour before the Malibu, the 3-year-old filly Kalypso won the G1 La Brea Stakes with a seven-furlong final time of 1:24.78, fully 3 2/5 seconds slower than Flightline.

Performance numbers are one way of measuring a horse's ability. David Ingordo, the bloodstock agent who bought Flightline on behalf of West Point Thoroughbreds and several other partners for $1-million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale, said the colt also passed the eyeball test.

“He's a brilliant horse and you don't need Ragozins or Beyers to see that,” Ingordo said. “You can tell that he doesn't have to put a lot into what he's doing. He does it so easily.”

Ingordo first laid eyes on Flightline when he and Bill Farish from Lane's End visited breeder Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm in Georgetown, Ky., to look at a different Tapit colt from the 2018 foal crop, a chestnut-coated half brother to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Lane's End consigns the Summer Wind horses and Ingordo said there was interest in buying the colt off the farm privately.

“There was another horse in the paddock and I said to Bill, 'I like the brown one.' Bill said, 'We're here to see the chestnut one.'”

The brown horse turned out to be Flightline. The chestnut colt, who remained the property of Summer Wind, was named Triple Tap and turned over to trainer Bob Baffert. Two-for-two going into the Malibu, Triple Tap finished 18 ¾ lengths behind Flightline in fourth place.

Ingordo saw the two horses several more times and his preference for the brown colt never wavered.

When it came time for the Saratoga sale, Ingordo hitched a ride to New York on a Tex Sutton flight to ride with a group of yearlings. “I was sitting in the back with one of the guys I knew well,” Ingordo said. “He said it was going to be a bumpy ride and asked if I would grab a couple yearlings. “One of them had a pretty good head on him and I noticed his name was Flightline. I looked up his pedigree and saw it was the horse from Summer Wind that I liked so much.”

Ingordo began representing West Point Thoroughbreds in 2017 and the Tapit colt out of the graded stakes-winning Indian Charlie mare, Feathered, is the kind of prospect Finley said his partners are looking for. Finley knew it would take serious money to buy Flightline, so put together a group that included Hronis Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Farish's Woodford Racing LLC and Summer Wind. The hammer price was $1-million.

“Stephanie Hronis was there and David has done great work for them (she and husband Kosta Hronis),” said Finley. “She fell in love with the horse at the Lane's End consignment. We've had good luck partnering with Siena (Anthony Manganaro), buying five together and getting two Grade 1 winners, a Grade 2, and a stakes winner. We had not done anything with Jane Lyon before, but that really makes a difference when a breeder has the confidence to stay in, especially when it's big dollars. She bypassed the chance to take $250,000 off the table, and that's a strong statement.”

Finley confirmed that Summer Wind owns 25% of Flightline but didn't want to disclose how the remaining share of the horse was divided among the four additional partners.

There is no textbook for picking potential athletes, whether they are equine or human. Ingordo said he spent time with a couple of professional baseball scouts who are also interested in horse racing and found it's the same in both professions. There's an “it” quality with some athletes that is hard to miss, he said, whether it's a LeBron James in basketball or Bo Jackson, one of the greatest two sport athletes of all time who was named a Major League Baseball All Star and an All Pro running back in the NFL. (The two scouts, Ingordo said, both thought Jackson would be better at baseball if he stuck to one sport.)

“Horses are the same way,” he continued. “I remember when Garrett O'Rourke (Juddmonte Farms general manager) showed me a bunch of 2-year-olds. One of them just stood out, and it was Empire Maker (eventual G1 Belmont Stakes winner). Same thing with Zenyatta. I said, 'This is a horse we have to have.' Honor A.P. (G1 Santa Anita Derby winner) is another. I said, 'I don't give a crap. I'm buying this horse.'

“Flightline is another one of those. Each time I saw him I liked him more. There was just something about him. Of course the history books are littered with stories about trainers getting great unraced 2-year-olds where something happens.”

Something did happen to Flightline, but, fortunately, it only postponed his racing career.

In January 2020, Ingordo went to visit Flightline and other clients' horses at Mayberry Farm in Ocala, Fla., an operation run by Jeanne Mayberry and her two daughters, April and Summer.

“I'm watching these sets train and saw lots of beautiful horses,” he said. “I'm waiting for the next set and I hear this big crash, a loud bang. The Tapit colt scared himself, something startled him. He had his tack on and was ready to go out, but caught his butt on a stall door latch. It was a pretty deep wound and took a long time to heal. You can see that scar back there. One of those fluke things that will happen. We gave him plenty of time to heal, then COVID hit, and a lot of people were on a holding pattern.

“The Mayberrys are a big part of the program,” he said. “Jeanne (working alongside her late husband, Brian) trained a Kentucky Oaks winner (Sardula in 1994 for Ann and Jerry Moss). They called me very early on about Zenyatta. And two years ago they called me and said we might have another good one, Honor A.P. And then April called me early last year to say, 'You're going to think I'm crazy, but we might have two or three horses that are better than the group we had with Honor A.P.”

It's tempting to get overly excited about a horse after one start. Flightline won his April 2021 debut by 13 ¼ lengths at Santa Anita, then didn't show up again until Sept. 5 at Del Mar, Sadler giving him plenty of time to overcome a foot bruise. He won that allowance race by 12 ¾ lengths.

That second win brought more hype and speculation that Sadler might point the lightly raced colt to the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar. No dice. He instead circled Dec. 26 on the calendar. Flightline didn't miss a beat in his training up to the Malibu.

Flightline passed this latest test with flying colors, even though this was not the deepest Malibu field we've seen and the other leading 3-year-old colt in training, G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Life Is Good, is in Florida with Todd Pletcher training up to a start in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 29.

Sadler, according to Daily Racing Form's Steve Andersen, is looking at a possible start in the G1 Met Mile on the June 11 Belmont Stakes day card for Flightline and possibly three other starts in 2022.

“John will steer the ship,” Finley said when asked about possible races for Flightline. “He's done so well. He's been training 40 years, and it's really something to see his passion and intensity – not just John's but the whole barn. John's assistant, Juan Leyva, is talking about this horse in a way that I've never heard someone at a barn say before.  Rene Quinteros, the barn foreman, every single day at 4:15 in the morning, walks this horse for 30 minutes. Everyone is just zeroed in on him.”

Ingordo has been down this road previously with one of the greatest horses of the modern era, Zenyatta, who didn't lose a race until her 20th and final career start, coming up a head short of Blame in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

“John has referred to Flightline as his Zenyatta,” Ingordo said.

“We've all been let down before,” Ingordo said of horses that showed early promise then failed to sustain it. “That's why when you expect a great performance and everybody has done everything right and then it really happens, it's that jaw-dropping.

“This one does everything so easily,” he added. “He's so smart. He's got it all. We're not looking to rush him off to the (breeding) shed. We want to run, just as much as the fans want to see him run. We might have to temper our desire to run more than the fans do. But you know how it goes sometimes. Horses will laugh at our plans.”

There's no telling just what Flightline may be capable of doing. Let's just hope he has the opportunity to show us.

The post For Bloodstock Agent Ingordo, Flightline Always Had The ‘It’ Quality appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Flightline Imperious In Runhappy Malibu Romp

Flightline (Tapit), who had given hints of greatness while opening his career with two supremely easy victories, officially arrived with an eye-popping victory in the GI Runhappy Malibu S. at Santa Anita Sunday.

For Bill Farish of co-owner Woodford Racing, the Malibu result confirmed the faith his team has had in the colt all along.

“We hoped to win this, but to do this against this kind of field, this was the real class test for him and I think he answered it the way we thought he would,” Farish said.

Off a touch slowly, the bay recovered and clicked off an opening quarter in :22.01 and a half in :44.48 while under an easy hold. Asked to lengthen once heads were turned for home, Flightline continued to widen on the front end without being asked a single question by Flavien Prat and coasted under the line 11 1/2 lengths clear of Baby Yoda (Prospective). The final time, over what was a dull strip during Sunday's program, was a spectacular 1:21.37, better than three seconds faster than the time recorded by Kalypso (Brody's Cause) in the GI La Brea S. a couple of races prior.

“I was in cruise control the whole race, galloping freely,” Prat said. “He was quite impressive. I wanted to get a good position and get myself into the race. My idea was to get out there running and see what happened. He has been brilliant so far. He really has been quite amazing.”

A $1-million graduate of the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, Flightline earned no-doubt 'TDN Rising Star'-dom with a 13 1/4-length romp on his local debut Apr. 24. Gone for some 4 1/2 months thereafter, Flightline resumed with a 12 3/4-length success in a first-level Del Mar allowance Sept. 5, prompting questions on whether a Breeders' Cup appearance might be in the offing. After some deliberation, connections demurred, opting to train up to Sunday's race.

“I've been stressing the last 20, 30 or 40 days getting ready for today,” trainer John Sadler admitted. “There is a lot of pressure on you, but it is the pressure you want. It's like the high school coach for LeBron. You know you have something special and he is much the best. This horse is there. You just don't want to screw it up.”

As for where his budding superstar might appear next, Sadler said, “The next race is up to the horse. We have to be true to the horse. We will chart the course from there. This horse is so brilliant. This is not an ordinary horse, this is a very special horse. We want to do right by the horse and all other things will fall into place.”

Pedigree Notes:

Feathered, who was second in the 2015 GI American Oaks, has a yearling full-brother to Flightline who RNA'd for $390,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, and a weanling half-brother by Curlin. Her 2-year-old colt by Pioneerof the Nile was exported to Russia after selling for $100,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. Feathered, who was purchased by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm for $2.35 million at the 2016 Keeneland November sale, was bred to Into Mischief this year.    Flightline is the 95 graded winner for Tapit and the first out of an Indian Charlie mare.

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
RUNHAPPY MALIBU S.-GI, $301,000, Santa Anita, 12-26, 3yo, 7f, 1:21.37, ft.
1–FLIGHTLINE, 120, c, 3, by Tapit
1st Dam: Feathered (GSW & MGISP, $577,474),
                                by Indian Charlie
                2nd Dam: Receipt, by Dynaformer
                3rd Dam: Finder's Fee, by Storm Cat
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
   WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($1,000,000 Ylg '19 FTSAUG). O-Hronis
Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Summer Wind Equine LLC, West
Point Thoroughbreds & Woodford Racing, LLC; B-Summer
Wind Equine LLC (KY); T-John W. Sadler; J-Flavien Prat.
$180,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $259,800. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Baby Yoda, 120, g, 3, Prospective–More Than Speed, by
More Than Ready. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Pantofel Stable, LLC,
Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber & Jerold L. Zaro; B-Kathleen
Amaya & Alexandro & Raffaele Centofanti (FL); T-William I.
Mott. $60,000.
3–Stilleto Boy, 120, g, 3, Shackleford–Rosie's Ransom, by
Marquetry. ($420,000 3yo '21 FTKHRA). O-Steve Moger;
B-John Kerber & Iveta Kerber (KY); T-Ed Moger, Jr. $36,000.
Margins: 11HF, 1, 6 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 16.10, 19.10.
Also Ran: Triple Tap, Timeless Bounty, Team Merchants, Dr. Schivel.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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