TAPIT sired his first Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner in tremendous style on Saturday when his legendary son Flightline raced the field off its feet at Keeneland.
Almost from the start, the 1 ¼ mile race turned into a two-horse race with Flightline and Life Is Good pulling far away from the field and engaging in their own duel. Flightline sat in second and kept the pressure on the pacesetter throughout fractions of :22.55, :45.47, and 1:09.62, before Life Is Good folded going into the stretch and Flightline took over the lead.
Never truly asked for his best, Flightline romped to a 8 ¼ length victory in a time of 2:00.05 for his fourth straight Grade 1 win.
A $1 million yearling purchase who has made $4,514,800 in his career, Flightline becomes the seventh Breeders’ Cup winner for TAPIT, whose last winner came with Essential Quality won the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). That TAPIT son finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) last year.
Flightline is trained by John Sadler for Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing with Summer Wind also breeding the 4-year-old.
“How do you describe greatness? This is a rare horse,” Sadler said. “It happens every 20 or 30 years. One of the best American racehorses we’ve seen in a long, long time. And I’m talking back to Secretariat, Seattle Slew. You go through the list.”
He is one of three winners from three to race out of the Grade 3 winner and multiple Grade 1-placed Feathered. That mare is a granddaughter of the dual Grade 1 winner Finder’s Fee, who herself is a daughter of Grade 1 winner Fantastic Find.
Feathered has a TAPIT 2-year-old colt named Olivier to come.
A dominant sire year after year, TAPIT has two Grade 1 winners and four Grade 1 horses in 2022 with 28 stakes performers this year overall. The Gainesway stalwart has the most progeny earnings of any North American stallion ever.
TAPIT leads all active North American stallions by stakes winners, stakes performers, graded stakes winners, graded stakes horses, Grade 1 winners, Grade 1 stakes performers, and winners.