LEXINGTON, Ky. — No one was coming for Flightline, and Flavien Prat knew it. He looked over his shoulder on the far turn.
Six horses were struggling to keep up. Life is Good was ahead of him by a couple of lengths. So what?
Prat and his colt looked like a couple of Secret Service agents jogging alongside “The Beast,” as the presidential limousine is known, barely breaking a sweat.
“We were going very, very, fast,” said a surprised Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode Life is Good in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday. Ortiz was hoping to run the undefeated Flightline off his feet early to make him uncomfortable.
But his colt was not fast enough. In the far turn, Prat hadn’t even asked Flightline to turn on the jets. The first glance behind him was to make sure no horse was picking up steam. Nope, they were struggling to keep up.
At the quarter pole, Prat let Flightline loose. He got parallel with the fastest horse in the world as the duo shot past Life is Good like a torpedo. Now, Ortiz and his colt were discouraged.
Two lengths became four, four lengths became eight. Prat took one last peek behind him and saw more dirt than horses. He raised slightly in the saddle, relaxed his hands and enjoyed the feeling of Flightline parting the clouds for what may have been the last time.
“I felt like I was in control the whole race,” Prat said.
The record books say Flightline is undefeated in six starts, dispatching the most accomplished horses in America by a combined 71 lengths. As the odds-on favorite, the colt paid $2.88 for a $2 bet.
But there were not many souls here rooting against the colt. Flightline was treated like the heavyweight champion of the world as he sauntered onto the track, sending roars echoing from Keeneland’s limestone grandstands into the bluegrass.
Even the most accomplished horsemen in the world were transformed into fans for two minutes. Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien, the trainer of numerous champions, was in the paddock. Hours earlier, he had won his third Breeders’ Cup race of the weekend and the 16th of his career.
“I wanted to see him in the flesh,” he said, studying the colt like a jeweler discerning a precious stone. “Rarely do you see a horse so dominant. He’s on another level.”
Junior Alvarado rallied Olympiad to finish second and could not have been more thrilled to merely share the same racetrack as Flightline.
“That was a race like you might see in 60 or 70 years, once in a lifetime. Period,” he said. “I am happy that I will forever be known as the guy who finished second to Flightline in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.”
There was one cloud over the celebration. Epicenter, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, pulled up with an injury to his right forelimb. He walked onto the equine ambulance and was taken for evaluation.
For weeks now, Flightline has sparked debate about where he stands among other giants of the sport. Should he be regarded alongside Secretariat, Man o’ War and a couple of dozen others who have captured the public’s imagination over the years?
His trainer, John Sadler, thinks so. He quoted Bud Delp, who trained Spectacular Bid, a staple of conversation about great horses.
“He’s the best horse ever to look through a bridle,” Sadler said. “We’re talking since Secretariat, Seattle Slew.”
For the colt’s owners, a tough decision looms. The partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine and Woodford Racing shared a $3 million first-place check.
But if they retire Flightline to the breeding shed, they are looking at a minimum $60 million payday. Terry Finley of West Point said the group would meet in the coming days to make a decision.
For Sadler, Flightline has nothing more to prove to him.
“This is one of the great horses of all time,” he said. “Most trainers don’t get a horse like this, so I’m just feeling very blessed.”