A Savior Awaits

 They are using all the superlatives today.  His performance was breathtaking.  You don't see this very often.  This could be the horse of a lifetime.  

After Flightline won the Malibu Stakes opening day at Santa Anita, the pundits and old-timers, the youthful and the addicted gamblers, the occasional fan, and the newbie were all stunned by his performance.   It wasn't merely good, it was off the charts.  This horse has the potential to be beyond something special.

The veterans of the sport, who have seen it all before,  know it's way too early to get this excited.  Still, given the current state of affairs in this difficult, if not miserable world today, the possibility is there.  It's a good thing that Flightline's trainer, John Sadler, has handled horses of this caliber before.  That helps because patience with a capital P is often the key.

These days, when I watch a horse race, it's at home and by myself.  I often talk to myself.  That comes from years of watching races with my friends, racetrack buddies, or in a pressed box when I worked as a turf writer.  Yesterday, as Flightline took the lead and stretched out displaying that extra gear that the great ones have, I muttered, "He looks like Seattle Slew out there."

This morning when I went to check his pedigree, Surprise! (actually no surprise) Slew is his great grandfather.  

Could this be the one?  Could we be in the presence of another Seattle Slew, or Secretariat, or perhaps Seabiscuit?  The latter made his presence felt in the depths of the Great Depression,  We certainly need this kind of equine savior now.  Maybe this is how it works.  

So, in this time of predictions for the new year, barring any injury or unforeseen circumstance, we are looking at the prohibitive favorite for the 2022 Kentucky Derby? No! In a few days he’ll be  4 year-old, so he’s too old for the Triple Crown.  Maybe Flightline can do some Public Service Announcements urging people to wear a mask and quit complaining.  Get vaccinated and tested and realize once and for all that we are in the big middle of a full-tilt pandemic.  

Maybe we will all have something to bring us together throughout the coming year.  Stranger things have happened.  All maybes aside, we are surely going to have something to look forward to in the coming months.  A Savior awaits.