Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Flightline’s dam, Feathered, queen bee at Summer Wind
Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Farm has assembled a topnotch broodmare band, including Littleprincessemma, the dam of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, and that mare’s Grade 1-winning daughter Chasing Yesterday. But the most exciting mare on the Georgetown, Ky., property at the moment may be Feathered. The 10-year-old Indian Charlie mare is the dam of Flightline, who remained unbeaten with a dynamic victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park.
“We are extra excited about his dam,” Summer Wind, which co-owns Flightline, posted on its social media accounts.
Feathered, who is from the Phipps family of Grade 1 winners Dancing Spree, Fantastic Find, Finder’s Fee, Furlough, and other standouts, was campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners to win the Grade 3 Edgewood Stakes on the Churchill Downs turf in 2015 and placed in three Grade 1 events on both dirt and turf. She was a $2.35 million purchase by Summer Wind at the 2016 Keeneland November breeding stock sale while carrying her first foal, the winning War Front filly Good On Paper.
After delivering that foal, Lyon bred her new mare to Tapit, and she produced Flightline. The colt was a $1 million yearling purchase by West Point Thoroughbreds at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale from the consignment of Lane’s End, which regularly handles the Summer Wind horses. Hronis Racing and Siena Farm later joined the partnership on Flightline, with Summer Wind coming back in for a piece, along with the Lane’s End-affiliated Woodford Racing.
Lyon was on hand to escort Flightline down Belmont’s Grade 1 victory lane after his six-length victory in the Met Mile, which earned him a Beyer Speed Figure of 112. The colt has now won his four starts by a combined 43 1/2 lengths, with an average Beyer of 112.25.
Feathered is also the dam of Voron, a Pioneerof the Nile colt who is a winner in Russia, to give his dam three winners from as many starters. Olivier, a 2-year-old full brother to Flightline, was a $390,000 buyback at last summer’s Fasig Saratoga sale, when Flightline had just a debut victory to his credit.
Next in the pipeline for the mare is Eagles Flight, a yearling colt by Curlin. She delivered a filly by leading sire Into Mischief this year.
“Feathered, Flightline, and family will keep us soaring for years,” Summer Wind wrote.
Indian Charlie still rolling
Indian Charlie continues to make his mark on the breed with his second-generation progeny. The late Airdrie Stud resident is the broodmare sire of Flightline and the paternal grandsire of Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal.
In addition to Feathered, Indian Charlie is the sire of reigning Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Indian Miss, dam of champion Mitole and Grade 1 winner Hot Rod Charlie. Indian Charlie’s 99 stakes winners as a broodmare sire include Canadian Horse of the Year Biofuel, Grade 1/Group 1 winners Dayoutoftheoffice and Switzerland, and active multiple graded stakes winners Cairo Memories and Crazy Beautiful, among others.
Indian Charlie has 12 sons at stud, most notably Uncle Mo, who recorded his second classic winner with Mo Donegal. Adios Charlie is a perennial leading sire in Florida.
Met Mile lives up to reputation
The Metropolitan Handicap is known as a stallion-making race, and the stallion success of some of its recent winners was on display over the weekend. Quality Road, winner of the 2010 edition, and Ghostzapper, the 2005 victor, were each represented by a graded stakes winner during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
Quality Road’s daughter Bleecker Street remained unbeaten in seven career starts with a victory in the Grade 1 New York Stakes on turf Friday
Quality Road, who stands at Lane’s End Farm, is leading the North American general sire list, thanks largely to the victory of his son Emblem Road in the Saudi Cup. Bleecker Street is one of his six stakes winners in North America in 2022
Ghostzapper, who resides at Hill ‘n’ Dale, is the sire of Fearless, who earned his fourth career graded stakes victory in the Grade 2 Brooklyn. Ghostzapper had a stakes double on the weekend, as Moira won the Fury Stakes at Woodbine.
Among other recent Met Mile winners, Frosted, a dazzling winner of the 2016 edition, is the sire of Sister Lou Ann, who won the Martha Washington Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Gun Runner has a double
Horse of the Year Gun Runner, last year’s recordsetting leading freshman sire, continues his ascent as he swept a pair of stakes for 3-year-olds on Sunday at Churchill Downs.
Cyberknife, winner of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in April before finishing 18th in the Kentucky Derby, returned to action with a game nose victory in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes. The Matt Winn is the same race that Gun Runner, in 2016, won to start the second half of his season after winning the Louisiana Derby and finishing third in the Kentucky Derby.
Earlier on the card, Wicked Halo found the winner’s circle for the first time since the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes last summer at Saratoga by winning the Leslie’s Lady overnight stakes.
Wicked Halo is a homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds and is trained by Steve Asmussen. The trainer also conditioned Gun Runner for co-owners Winchell and Three Chimneys. The latter outfit stands the young stallion, sire of Eclipse Award champion Echo Zulu and Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting, in Midway, Ky.