“We need a hero,” said owner Kosta Hronis, emotional as he stood in the winners’ circle after the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, where Flight route (Tapit) ran one of the greatest races in the long history of the sport.
“We need a champion,” he continued. “We need an undefeated horse. Someone can go out and do this and that’s Flightline. “
In those four short sentences, Hronis captures the moment, the emotion, and all of the reasons why Flightline needs to be brought back to the 2023 campaign. It’s because of the sport and all the people who love it. needs and deserves more of the miracles this very special horse brings every time. For owners, please put horse racing first and your bank account second and give the game what will be nothing less than a precious and cherished gift. Please.
Flightline could make an incredible amount of money next year as a steed, much more than he can make on the track. His five owners all say they’re racing fans first, but they’re also business people and it’s not economically realistic to race Flightline next year. The insurance policy alone cost them millions of dong. He will probably retire.
I’m trying not to sound naive.
But I won’t give up hope.
NBC’s cameras targeted another owner, Terry Finley, after the race and there was a tear running down his cheek. He is experiencing what we all hope to experience in our lives, a feeling of pure euphoria, a pure joy. I’m sure the other owners, Hronis, Bill Farish, Jane Lyon and Anthony Manganaro all feel the same way. Perhaps there is nothing else in the world that can compare to this other than giving birth. It is truly priceless.
Money is good. Money is important. But Finley would never cry with joy after seeing the balance in his bank account. That feeling, those tears, what Terry Finley experienced on Saturday, could be repeated maybe four or five times over the next year with what will surely be four or five sensational performances. . Does he or any of the other owners really want to let that go?
I wouldn’t say it if this wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime horse. I wouldn’t say that even to American pharoah (Pioneer of the Nile) or Evenly (Go, Dad). They are great horses, Triple Crown winners, but Flightine has gone to a place those horses have never gone. He doesn’t live up to the hype. He broke it. He makes the impossible seem ordinary.
After he won the GI Pacific Classic with 19 1/4 lengths, it seemed that Flightline could never surpass that achievement. But he did. If he’s going to fight, this is it. Classic loaded and seven opponents presented a challenge much tougher than the one he faced at Del Mar. But it’s not a war. It’s not even a skirmish. Under the lead of his passenger, Flavien Prat, he couldn’t have been more dominant. Flight path won by
8 1/4 lengths, turning the last two grips into a one-horse race. Again, the Prat never had to shift out of the cruise control system.
“How do you describe greatness?” Coach John Sadler said. “This is a rare horse. It happens every 20 or 30 years. One of the best American racehorses we’ve seen in a long time. And I’m speaking again to the Secretariat, Seattle Slew. You go through the list ”.
It is difficult to compare the Flyway with the Secretariat because they are horses from two very different eras and the Flyway has only raced six times. But remember, the Secretariat lost twice after an otherworldly performance at GI Belmont S. The flight path somehow seemed to get better with every race.
Who is the greatest ever, Flyway or Secretariat? Let’s just say this: both belong in the conversation.
This sport can bring you down. There have been drug scandals with Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis and the rest. You have too many groups and individuals trying to undermine the Equestrian Safety and Integrity Authority. The safety and well-being of animals, both during and after their careers, remains a constant concern. The struggle to get mainstream attention for the game seems to be a never-ending and losing battle. On days when there are too many racetracks, the stands are empty.
But Saturday, it’s like the problems are gone. At this point it really is the best game ever and we all remember why we loved it in the first place. Thank you, Flightline.
“This is really good for the business,” Finley said.
Exactly.
So bring him back. While you’re at it, plan a campaign that doesn’t include trips to the Middle East. If this is not about money then don’t be about money. Let’s make 2023 a celebration and a celebration of American racing. Put the fans first. Runs in the GI Pegasus World Cup, GI Santa Anita H. Back in the Pacific Classic. Let’s end the year back to Santa Anita in the Classic and see if he can win this time by a dozen or more lengths.
Then cash and send him to the stud.
To ask the relationship to run him next year is asking a lot. I understand that. It’s just that I don’t want to see this ending and neither does its owner.
