Eight of the world’s best dirt track runners were involved on October 31 in the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), but two stood out above the rest. : unbeaten Flight route and Life is good .
Or better yet, Flightline vs. Life Is Good.
No question, race in race on November 5 at Keeneland between two 4-year-olds winning first grade at lightning speed that promises to be the highlight of the two-day World Championship and, one way or another, it will determine the outcome of the test. check 1/4 mile. Speed and stamina will probably become the Horse of the Year.
While how they break through the portal will determine where both horses find themselves taking their first turn, by the time they reach the latter, the two exceptionally fast opponents will be close together, making for an epic showdown. Coated can separate one or both from the rest of the field or exhaust them and open the door to an upset.
In the case of Flightline – who will start from 4 under Flavien Prat at 3-5 odds – in addition to Horse of the Year, Classic can also determine Tapit colt’s worthiness to be included in discussions of Horses of the Decade or Horses of the 21st Century. He has excelled in a brief but spectacular five-race career for coach John Sadler and the team. owned by Hronis Racing, breeders Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing and Siena Farm.
“He’s a special horse. He’s a unique horse. Before he ever ran in a race, it made me think he was the best I’ve ever had,” Sadler said. , who won the Classic 2018 said Urge .
John Sadler
Purchased for $1 million from Lane’s End consignment at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s New York Sale of Select Yearlings, the son of the Indian mare Charlie Feathered was the favorite to win both Classic and Horse of the Year titles. The $1.39 million earner is not only the unanimous #1 pick in the most recent NTRA Top 10 poll, but he’s currently topping Longines’ World’s Best Racehorse ranking with a record. his perfect.
In those five starts, three of which were 1st place wins, Flightline dominated for a total of nearly 63 lengths. An easy winner of the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan (G1) and Malibu (G1) handicaps, the future Lane’s End stallion looked very excited on his final start. Facing a pitch that includes the $12 million Dubai World Cup sponsored by champions Emirates Airline (G1) Country Grammer Flightline took the lead and ran off the field as if he had sprouted wings like the myth of Pegasus.
At the wire, he led 19 1/4 lengths in a near-record time of 1:59.28 for 1 1/4 miles, turning one of the most important races of the year into one of the most dominant performances. most valuable in recent memory.
“Every time there was a question mark, he got it right,” said Prat, the Flightline diver in all five starts. “The Pacific Classic is a great feeling. He ran that distance for the first time, the first time he ran around two turns, the first time facing older horses, and he became a display. On the eighth pole, I thought I was a few yards ahead; then when I looked around at the other horses behind me, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Suffice it to say, if Flightline, in what is likely to be his last, gets close to his achievement in the TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) on September 3, it will make a difficult and imposing tasks for his rivals.
Robert Clay of Grandview Equine, which owns one of the top contenders in the Classic, the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), said: “If Flightline were as good as we thought, nobody could beat him. . Olympiad .
Still, unbeatable as Flightline looked, strange things have been known to happen in a horse race, and the Classic offers enough class and quality to make the heart of the World Championship a A highly anticipated match.
In particular, China Horse Club and WinStar Farm’s Life Is Good cannot be missed as he enters post 2 of his final start before starting his life as a stallion at WinStar Farm.
Life Is Good beat Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse
For most of the year, he will be the favorite in the Horse of the Year race. The son of Into Mischief 6-1 at dawn, having won nine of 11 career-starters, including a near-six score in last year’s Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and three class wins 1 other.
His 2022 standings for coach Todd Pletcher lists four wins in five starts, with the immediate wins being in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), John A. Nerud Stakes (G2) , Whitney Stakes (G1) and Woodward Stakes (G1). The lone loss came overseas as he traveled more than 1 1/8 miles for the first time and faced international competition in the 10-round Dubai World Cup. Although he set the pace and looked strong at the start of the stretch, the son of the Beach Walk mare Bred by Gary and Mary West tired late and finished fourth, trailing Country Grammer 2 1/4 longs.
“It’s going to be a tough task with Flightline in it, but Life Is Good is a great horse,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm’s CEO/president and track manager. “One of the reasons we’re running in the Classic is to put the best horses in the best races and see what happens.”
In the October 31st place draw, Life Is Good, who led virtually every call early in his 11-race career, took 2nd place.
“I guess if I had a split, I’d rather be outside (of Flightline), but if he breaks as well as he has in the final starts, then you know he’s going to put himself in a position.” good position,” Pletcher said of Life Is Good, third pick 6-1 on the morning line.
Sightstown , winning the 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, lifted his 2022 record to six wins in seven starts for coach Bill Mott and Grandview Equine owners, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods. He leaves 7 under Junior Alvarado at 10-1
A 3-year-old trio will also provide plenty of competition. Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) Winner by Winchell Thoroughbreds Epicenter (post 6, 5-1) is the leader of the division. The son of Not this timeThe resume includes seconds from the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1).
Winchell Thoroughbreds race manager David Fiske said: “He is doing great and he shows up every time, but this is a steep mountain to climb. some stallions are Keeneland while some are not, so at least there is some variation. “
Zedan Racing Stable’s Taiba (posts 1, 8-1) won the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) after being beaten by a top in the TVG.com Haskell Invitational (G1), and if coach Bob Baffert finds a way to winning the Classic lasts a record fifth time that can turn the 3-year-old championship in the direction Gunman pony.
Red TR-Racing’s Rich Strike (post 8, 20-1) piloted a rocket ship to fame by posting an upset 80-1 win for coach Eric Reed in the Kentucky Derby, even though he didn’t win in three times since then. On a more promising note, the son of Keen Ice only got hit in the head by Classic starter Hot Rod Charlie last appeared at Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) and could return to top form at another high-opportunity time.
Rich Strike schools on the lawn on October 29 in Keeneland
Hot Rod Charlie was the only return from last year’s Classic. The Oxbow colt was fourth a year ago and no worse than third in five 2022 starts for Doug O’Neill. He left tower 5 under the lead of Tyler Gaffalione with a score of 15-1.
Pletcher will also send Wertheimer et Frere’s Happy Saver (post 3, 30-1), who hasn’t won a stake since the 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup, however, Super Saver’s 5-year-old son certainly has the potential to make it 5-. 5-1 in 12 career starts.
This is a school for @BreedersCup Classic on Saturday at #Keneland! pic.twitter.com/jI7U34ZuN0
– Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 31, 2022
Item: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1)
KeenelandSaturday, November 5, 2022, Race 11
- Level I
- 1 1/4
- Dust
- $6,000,000
- 3 years or more
- 5:40pm (local)
