It’s been two years since Flightline roared to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic – and it will be two more years before his first foals are eligible to appear at a Breeders’ Cup. But in the meantime, Flightline’s first weanlings will be among the talking points at this month’s Kentucky mixed sales, representing a stallion who is already building a major commercial reputation. The first clue that Flightline would be a market sensation came when he was a $1 million yearling at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected sale. Racing for the partnership of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, his breeder Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, and the Lane’s End-affiliated Woodford Racing, Flightline won all six of his career starts, including the Metropolitan Handicap, Pacific Classic, and Breeders’ Cup Classic by a combined 33 1/2 lengths to secure 2022 Horse of the Year honors. He retired to Lane’s End after the Classic. A few days after his career finale, a 2.5 percent interest in Flightline sold for $4.6 million at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale. He subsequently stood his first season for an advertised fee of $200,000. His fee got a market-typical adjustment to $150,000 in 2024, where he remains for the upcoming season. Lane’s End limited him to books of 152 mares in each of his first two seasons. Last season, 13 mares carrying foals from Flightline’s first crop sold at public auction for an average price of $1,074,231 – more than five times the lofty stud fee. Three first-crop foals by Flightline were offered over the summer at a Japan Racing Horse Association sale, averaging $974,058. The interest continues. Another stallion share in Flightline, again representing a 2.5 percent interest in the horse, was the star offering at the inaugural Keeneland Championship sale on Wednesday night, and was purchased for $2.5 million. Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind was the winning bidder, deepening her investment in her star. With this market interest continuing, Flightline is represented by two first-crop weanlings set to sell at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale on Nov. 4 – accounting for early outs, as he had four total selected for that elite catalog – and then six on offer at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, with five of those in the elite Book 1 session on Nov. 5. The relatively small number of lots offered is partially due to a number of breed-to-race operations who sent mares to Flightline early, as well as a number of prominent operations that focus on the yearling rather than the weanling marketplaces. These offerings could, thus, draw interest from a number of avenues – from end users who seek to add the stallion’s stock, to their racing stables as, essentially, collector’s items, to pinhookers looking to turn the youngsters around in a strong yearling marketplace next year, to international outlets that have expressed interest in the horse. Flightline’s weanlings at Fasig-Tipton include a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Biddy Duke, from the immediate family of champions Contrail, Essential Quality, Folklore, and Forte. His lots at Keeneland include a half-sibling to graded stakes winner Bluebirds Over and weanlings out of stakes winners Feeling Mischief and Lucrezia. The Fasig-Tipton November sale is an elite, single-session auction, which offers fewer weanlings by its nature; they must have strong pedigrees and conformation to be considered by the top of the marketplace. The Keeneland November sale, which consists of five books spread over nine sessions, allows for explorations of other segments of the marketplace, and thus a wider variety of horses can be offered. Fasig-Tipton will offer fewer than 150 weanlings after outs; there are 18 first-crop sires represented with a total of 26 lots. There are more than 1,400 weanlings in the Keeneland catalog; 53 first-crop sires are represented with 602 lots. In addition to Flightline, first-crop weanling sires with representatives chosen for the Fasig-Tipton catalog are Eclipse Award champions Epicenter (Coolmore’s Ashford Stud), Jackie’s Warrior (Spendthrift Farm), and Corniche (Ashford); Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting (formerly Ashford, currently Taylor Made Farm); two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Golden Pal (Ashford); Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Aloha West (Mill Ridge Farm); additional Grade 1 winners Cyberknife (Spendthrift), Drain the Clock (Gainesway), Happy Saver (Airdrie Stud), Idol (Taylor Made), Jack Christopher (Ashford), Life Is Good (WinStar Farm), and Olympiad (Gainesway); and Japanese Grade 1 winner Salios (Shadai Stallion Station). In addition to all of the aforementioned stallions, those represented by weanlings at Keeneland November also include Belmont Stakes winners Mo Donegal (Spendthrift) and Sir Winston (Crestwood Farm); Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide (Darley); and additional Grade 1 winners Pinehurst (Walmac Farm), Roadster (Ocala Stud), and Speaker’s Corner (Darley). First-crop covering sires Another Horse of the Year will get his commercial coming-out party at the November sales, as 2023 champion Cody’s Wish leads the class with their first mares in foal on offer. Cody’s Wish, a Godolphin homebred by emerging sire of sires Curlin, won 11 of 16 career starts and never missed the board while earning more than $3.1 million. His five Grade 1 victories were highlighted by a pair of wins in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He retired to Godolphin’s Darley stallion operation for an advertised fee of $75,000, tops in his class, and covered 165 mares this year, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred. Cody’s Wish has four mares in foal cataloged at the Fasig-Tipton November sale, followed by 16 at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale. His group is highlighted by a close tie to this year’s Breeders’ Cup. Fancy Day, cataloged at Fasig-Tipton, is the dam of graded stakes winner and Breeders’ Cup Turf entrant Cabo Spirit, as well as two other stakes-placed runners. Other stallions represented by their first mares in foal at the two major-market November sales include Eclipse Award champions Arcangelo (Lane’s End), Elite Power (Juddmonte), Forte (Spendthrift), and Up to the Mark (Lane’s End); Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Airdrie); and Grade 1 winners Americanrevolution (Rockridge Stud), Annapolis (Claiborne Farm), Arabian Lion (Spendthrift), Country Grammer (WinStar), Dr. Schivel (Taylor Made), Gunite (Ashford), Proxy (Darley), Taiba (Spendthrift), and Zandon (Spendthrift). :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.