'We could have sold him out in one day' - Flightline's book limited to 150 mares

While the world’s highest-rated racehorse is quickly adapting to his new routine at Lane’s End Farm, the people around him are scurrying to assemble a book of mares that they hope will launch the likely American Horse of the Year into a new epoch of domination.

“We’re going to put a lot of time and effort into making Flightline a horse that rewrites this history books [in breeding] just like he’s done on the racetrack, and I think he will set the tone for what the rest of the industry does as we go forward,” declared David Ingordo, Lane’s End’s bloodstock specialist and the man who selected Flightline as a $1 million yearling for his ownership group.

Ingordo joined Lane’s End general manager Bill Farish and stallion manager Peter Sheehan in parading Flightline before a group of racing media on Wednesday while announcing that the four-year-old son of Tapit would serve a book limited to 150 mares at his fee of $200,000 in the upcoming season.

Flightline with Juan Ruelas at Lane's End on WednesdayCredit: Anne M Eberhardt

“We could have sold him out in one day if we had wanted to, but that wouldn’t have been responsible to the horse,” Ingordo said of breeder demand for Flightline, explaining that some slots will be kept open for special mares as opportunities arise.

“He’s going to have an incredible group of mares. All the top breeders are breeding to him and that’s really gratifying to see,” added Farish, who named 2018 American champion female sprinter Shamrock Rose and Queen Caroline, dam of recent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and likely champion Forte, as among the mares lined up for Flightline.

Shamrock Rose was sold for $3m to Japan’s KI Farm at the Keeneland November sale and is one of several big-ticket Japanese purchases that will be sent to Flightline, who also has drawn interest from some European-based breeders, Farish said.

Other mares mentioned for Flightline by Ingordo, Farish or sale buyers include Grade 1 winner Come Dancing; Salty As Can Be, a stakes-placed Into Mischief half-sister to Grade 1 winner Salty sold for $2m to a group including Flightline’s co-owner West Point Thoroughbreds; and Curlin’s Grade 1-winning daughter Grace Adler, a $2m purchase by Japan’s Grand Farm.

There are also Grade 1-placed Graded winner Edgeway, a $1.7m purchase by Flightline’s breeder and co-owner Jane Lyon of Summer Wind Farm; Diva Delite, dam of champion Midnight Bisou; and, possibly, Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil, purchased for $5m by Mandy Pope.

Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil is among Flightline's potential first book in 2023Credit: Edward Whitaker

After proving the most unusual kind of runner, one that could be dazzlingly fast at six furlongs yet carry his speed with devastating effect over a mile and a quarter, Flightline has already broken the mould for an in-demand stallion prospect, Ingordo said.

With injury preventing him from racing as a juvenile or competing in the Triple Crown, he still established himself as virtually invaluable with his talent and, if he succeeds quickly at stud, he could change trends.

“That can be better for racing,” Ingordo suggested, noting that Flightline has proved that older runners who are allowed to flourish at their own pace can be just as commercially viable as two-year-old champions or Kentucky Derby winners - or even more so, in his case.

“I think Flightline, with his value as a stallion, will give a lot more people the patience to say, 'I don’t have to rush',” Ingordo said of managing the racing careers of auspicious colts.

A 2.5 per cent share in Flightline was sold for $4.6m - suggesting that his overall value is $184m - as the Keeneland November sale opened two days after his record-breaking eight-and-a-quarter-length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Meanwhile, Ingordo searched both the Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton sales for potential Flightline mates. Many of the top sellers from those sales will be visiting Flightline during breeding season, as will other mares who have gained approval during marathon pedigree review sessions.

“We’ve spent a lot of our time researching pedigrees that would suit him. We analysed every mare that went through the sales of Fasig and Keeneland Book 1 and Book 2, looking for things that would work with him,” said Ingordo, who, with two assistants, inspected every mare in those books.

“We’re trying not to do ‘analysis to paralysis,’ but we’ve put a lot of thought into approving mares for Flightline. He deserves it.”

As far as recommended matings, Ingordo said that, in addition to Flightline’s own deep pedigree featuring a Phipps female family laden with Grade 1 winners, the horse has much to offer physically.

Flightline: 'He should throw a good-looking baby because he is beautiful himself'Credit: Edward Whitaker

“He’s hard to fault, so I think he can cover a wide variety of mares,” Ingordo said, noting that he would give slight preference to robust, substantial mares as Flightline is a streamlined sort typical of the Tapit line.

“For people looking commercially, he should throw a good-looking baby because he is beautiful himself.”

In taking his place at Lane’s End, Flightline aims to extend the legacy of his great-grandsire A.P. Indy, the farm’s flagship stallion for many years who died in 2020.

Farish became briefly emotional when asked about the connection to A.P. Indy, adding that it was “really special” for Lane’s End, which has stood several generations of the stallion’s descendants.

Fittingly, Flightline has quickly taken to life at the farm of his paternal relatives.

“He just adapted immediately,” said Farish. “From the time he got off the van, it was amazing. He looked around, let the other stallions know he was here, and then went to his stall.”

“He’s probably the most intelligent horse I’ve been around,” said Sheehan. “He’s just taken everything in his stride. He’s one of these horses that listens and takes instruction.

"I think a lot of that is a testament to him and his nature, but it’s also a credit to all those people who have worked with him in the past.”

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