How good was Flightline?

Flightline was retired from racing immediately after his easy, 8¼-length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on November 5, 2022. That victory took his career record to a ‘perfect’ 6-6 and his earnings to in excess of £3.3 million; he is currently standing at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky for a stud fee of $200,000, or £160,000, per covering.

According to Timeform, the impeccably bred son of record-breaking American sire Tapit was the fifth highest-rated horse to run on the Flat since Timeform ratings were first published in 1948. His Timeform Annual Rating of 143 was inferior only to those awarded to Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstrel (both 144), Sea-Bird (145) and, of course, Frankel (147). Unlike his illustrious predecessors, Flightline raced exclusively on dirt, but the main problem with accurately assessing his ability is that he won his six starts by an aggregate of 71 lengths, none of them by less than six, and was never seriously challenged.

Trained by John Sadler in California and ridden, exclusively, by Flavien Prat, Flightline was unraced as a juvenile, but quickly made up for lost time in his three- and four-year-old seasons. He made his debut, as a three-year-old, in a maiden special weight race, over six furlongs, at Santa Anita Park on April 25, 2021, winning by an eye-watering 13½ lengths. A bruised foot kept him off the track until September 5 but, on his return to action, he turned an optional claiming race, again over six furlongs, at Del Mar into another procession, winning by 13 lengths. On December 26, he was stepped up to seven furlongs in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita, but once again justified odds-on favouritism by drawing clear in the straight for an easy, 11½-length win.

As a four-year-old, Flightline won the Grade 1 Memorial Handicap, over a mile, at Belmont Park by six lengths, the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes, over a mile and a quarter, at Del Mar by a ‘brilliant’ 19 lengths and the aforementioned Breeders’ Cup Classic, over the same distance. He was, no doubt, exceptional, but just how good is really anyone’s guess.