John Sadler

Unbeaten sensation and guaranteed GI Breeders' Cup Classic favorite Flightline (Tapit) put in his final prep for the World Championships at Keeneland Saturday. The 'TDN Rising Star' covered five furlongs solo in 1:00.60 (4/62) shortly after 7:30 a.m. under assistant trainer Juan Leyva. "I told Juan to go in a minute and change and out [seven-eighths] in 1:26, and that's what he did," trainer John Sadler said. "Juan's a great work rider. It was not about going fast today, just getting around there happy today." Flightline arrived at Keeneland Sunday...

With unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit) leading the way, 205 horses, including 45 from overseas, and seven former or returning Breeders' Cup champions, have been pre-entered for the 39th Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Nov. 4 & 5. The Breeders' Cup will be televised live domestically on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV. Click here to view all of the 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships Pre-Entered Fields. Nine horses were pre-entered for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. In addition to the record-setting GI Pacific Classic winner Flightline, the $6-million...

The brilliant and unbeaten MGISW Flightline (Tapit), who figures to be the prohibitive favorite for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 5, worked six furlongs in 1:11.80 Saturday morning at Santa Anita prior to a scheduled Sunday flight to Lexington. The work was his fifth consecutive on a Saturday morning dating back to Sept. 24. As per usual, Flightline was accompanied by a pony and ridden by his regular work partner, trainer John Sadler's assistant Juan Leyva, before sunrise. Leyva wears a light on his helmet to...

Unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) continued his march towards the GI Breeders' Cup Classic Saturday morning with another strong breeze at Santa Anita, where he worked five furlongs but was credited with six panels in 1:12.40 (1/2). "He's right on point," said trainer John Sadler following the 6:35 a.m. drill. "I had him in a 1:00 2/5. He went the first eighth in :12 1/5, the half in :48, five eighths in a 1:00 2/5 and he went out six furlongs in 1:12 3/5 and seven eighths in 1:25...

While his main locally based rivals were gearing up for the GI Awesome Again S. Saturday afternoon, unbeaten superstar Flightline (Tapit) continued his march towards the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Classic with another strong breeze at Santa Anita. The 'TDN Rising Star', last seen dropping jaws in the Sept. 3 GI TVG Pacific Classic S. to go five-for-five lifetime, covered five furlongs in 1:00.40 (11/59) under John Sadler's assistant trainer Juan Leyva (Click for video via XBTV). "He went nice and easy, no heavy lifting," Sadler said. "We've got...

It turns out Flightline (Tapit) isn't only fast horse Hronis Racing has in the John Sadler barn, as Bran (Fr) (Muhaarar {GB}) set a new course record of 1:07.41 for the six furlongs of the GII FanDuel Turf Sprint S. at Kentucky Downs. A "Win and You're In" event for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, the $1 million race was being contested for the 24th time and was Sadler's first win at the Franklin, Ky. track after just a handful of starts. At 11-1, Bran broke uneventfully and sat...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency                                          6th-DMR, $80K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 6:44 p.m. Making his first start Saturday for trainer Bob Baffert, FORT BRAGG (Tapit) was a $700,000 FTKOCT yearling purchase for the large ownership group of SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Rob Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC & Catherine Donovan. Bred in partnership with SF Bloodstock LLC, this is the first...

Trainer John Sadler said superstar Flightline (Tapit) came out of his devastating 19 1/4-length romp in Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic in good order. "We're literally talking 14 hours [since the race] but this early, he looks perfect," Sadler said. For Sadler, the most impressive aspect of Flightline's record rout was the way he opened up on the rest of the field. "Obviously, I was thrilled about him putting them away on the [far] turn," Sadler says. "That was really exciting, probably the most fun part. I was just so...

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley Some more thoughts on Flightline (Tapit) while trying to come up with the right superlative to describe his win in the GI TVG Pacific Classic. Words like spectacular, stunning, sensational just don't seem good enough. (*) It's tempting to try to compare him to Secretariat. The thing is, that's simply impossible. One has run just five times, the other ran 21 times, won the Triple Crown, was a two-time Horse of the Year and had his picture on the covers of Time, Newsweek...

The $1-million question heading into Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI TVG Pacific Classic was if unbeaten superstar Flightline (Tapit) could handle the 1 1/4-mile Classic distance. Here's a scary thought: he may be even better going longer. Stopping the timer just .17 seconds off Candy Ride (Arg)'s track record for 10 furlongs established in the 2003 renewal, the dominating last out GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. winner absolutely crushed his five rivals by a geared-down record margin of 19 1/4 lengths--yes, you read that correctly--in a performance for...

Four years ago on the eve of the GI TVG Pacific Classic, the hunt for the heavy favorite amid the lettered labyrinth of Del Mar's backstretch ended at Barn J. The stall, of course, belonged to Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky), a sleek, shiny copper penny of a colt, who carried weighty expectations that this was the year his trainer, John Sadler, would finally shrug off the voodoo that had cursed his previous attempts at the coveted prize. It was also viewed as a new high altitude for a horse whose...

There is no such thing as a sure thing in horse racing, but 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) will be bet as if Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic--a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 5--is already the proverbial fait accompli. And why not, really? His four towering victories in as many trips to the races have come by an average winning margin of better than 13 lengths. His lowest Beyer Speed Figure is a downright pedestrian 105 earned for his debut just...