Hronis Racing, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thorougbreds, Siena Farm and Woodford Racing’s undefeated Flightline ($2.88) sealed his place among racing’s legends with an 8 ¼-length victory in the 39th running of the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) for 3-year-olds and up Saturday afternoon at Keeneland.
Trained by John Sadler and ridden by Flavien Prat, Flightline completed the 1 1/4 miles on a fast track in 2:00.05. It is the second Classic victory for Sadler, who won with Accelerate in 2018 at Churchill Downs, and the first Classic for Prat, who was winning his fourth overall Breeders’ Cup race.
Life Is Good shot to the front out of the gate with Flightline taking up a stalking position to his outside through fractions of :22.55, :45.47 and 1:09.62 as the two opened up 10 lengths on the rest of the field. Nearing the far turn, Prat took a look over his shoulder to see if anyone was closing in but there was nothing behind him but open space. Flightline was 3 lengths back on the turn but rapidly cut into the deficit and reached even terms at the top of the stretch. Life Is Good had no response as Flightline roared on by and quickly opened up leaving the race for place that was earned by Olympiad, who finished a half-length in front of Taiba.
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Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike finished another 2 ½ lengths back in fourth and was followed in order by Life Is Good, Hot Rod Charlie and Happy Saver. Epicenter did not
finish. The victory was worth $3,120,000 and increased Flightline’s bankroll to $4,514,800 with six wins in six starts. Flightline is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Tapit out of the Indian Charlie mare Feathered.
2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic Replay
Moore Wins Shoemaker Award
Ryan Moore, who guided three horses to Breeders’ Cup victories Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland during the 39th World Championships won the 20thBill Shoemaker Award for the outstanding jockey of the two-day event. The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who rides the most winners in the 14 Championship races with the tiebreaker being 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes.
Moore, who won the Shoemaker Award in 2015, won Saturday’s Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) on Tuesday (IRE), and Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) on Victoria Road (IRE) and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) on Meditate (IRE). Moore picked up three seconds with Stone Age (IRE) in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), Emaraaty Ana (GB) in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) and Dramatised (IRE) in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1).
Irad Ortiz Jr., winner of the past four Shoemaker Awards, also rode three winners but only had one runner-up finish to Moore’s three. Ortiz won the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on Forte, the Breeders’s Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) on Goodnight Olive and the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) on Elite Power.
The Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Shoemaker, who captured the Kentucky Derby four times, won 8,833 races in a career that spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) aboard Ferdinand at Hollywood Park.
Bill Shoemaker Award Winners
2003: Alex Solis
2004: John Velazquez
2005: Garrett Gomez
2006: Frankie Dettori
2007: Garrett Gomez
2008: Garrett Gomez
2009: Julien Leparoux
2010: Garrett Gomez
2011: John Velazquez
2012: Mike Smith
2013: Mike Smith
2014: John Velazquez
2015: Ryan Moore
2016: Mike Smith
2017: Javier Castellano
2018: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2019: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2020: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2021: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2022: Ryan Moore
