SMOOTH LANDING

given us any indication he needs it.”

While Flightline has been given the superstar treatment, in the weeks following his arrival at Lane’s End he proved he’s no diva. Shortly afer the turn of the new year, the now 5-year-old was obligingly in step with the 20 other stallions living at Lane’s End. Turned out at night, groomed regularly, and as you might expect, paraded several times daily for potential breeders as well as giddy fans. On one breezy Tuesday afernoon, a Horse Country Farm Tour passed through and Flightline was the star attraction. Exiting his stall like a 16.2-hand supermodel on a catwalk, he cast a kind eye on the crowd and stood patiently for photos. “He doesn’t waste energy fretting about stuf,” said Sheehan. “You ask him to do something and he does it. He’s just a true professional.”

Clockwise from left, Flightline’s nameplate gleams with newness. Daily grooming is part of his routine. Lane’s End crew deliver bales of hay to the stallion barn. Flightline’s halter hangs in a quartet that includes Candy Ride.

Tailoring The Swift And The Astonishing In Six Easy Races

Flightline didn’t have his frst start until well into his 3-year-old year because an unfortunate (and now famous) run-in with a door latch as a yearling had lef him with a gruesome hind-end laceration that required a three-month recovery, thus delaying his debut. But from the moment he fnally entered Sadler’s Santa Anita barn, it was clear something big was in the making. “He never hid his talent; he stood out from Day One,” said Sadler. “Tere are a lot of great horses, but when he went on the track you could see how much he wanted to do it. And he tended to do it before you even asked him.”

While Flightline’s career is one for the record books, his past