Malibu Stakes 2021 Entries: Is it time for Flightline to soar?
The Morning Line odds seem to dictate that the 2021 edition of the Grade I Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita is very much a two-horse race. With a west coast sprinting star going up against a highly touted three-year-old who is being spoken about as a budding star.
Neil Monnery has an overview of the race with seven horses having been drawn into the field for the seven-furlong race, which is carded as Race 10 on the Sunday card.
- Post Position
- Horse
- Morning Line Odds
Post Position
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
Horse
- Baby Yoda
- Timeless Bounty
- Stilleto Boy
- Dr. Schivel
- Flightline
- Team Merchants
- Triple Tap
Morning Line Odds
- 12-1
- 20-1
- 10-1
- 9-5
- 7-5
- 15-1
- 4-1
Are you a Flightline or Dr. Schivel player? That is going to be one of the key questions going into the race on opening day of the Santa Anita meet.
We’ll take a look at Flightline first. Two wins from two is a solid enough start on paper but the complete dominance in both races has been something to behold. Trainer John Sadler has been holding him back and decided against trying to find a spot in the Breeders’ Cup and instead pointed this talented Tapit colt to the Malibu.
This $1million purchase as a yearling is being talked up for a massive 2022 so there are plenty of expectations. He has passed the eye test but this is his first real opportunity to display his talent against some quality opposition.
It is Dr. Schivel who is the obvious candidate to compete with Flightline. This three-year-old has been dominating the sprint division on the west coast so far this year having tasted victory in the Bing Crosby, Del Mar Futurity and Santa Anita Sprint Championship. This Violence Colt was beaten into second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint but has clear pedigree at this distance.
My instinct is to lean towards Flightline but it is still early in the week.
Ignoring any Bob Baffert horse is always a foolproof strategy to losing money at the windows and the Hall of Fame trainer has entered a Tapit colt into this one. Triple Tap is another who people are intrigued by and like Flightline, he has two wins on his resume and is set to make a big step up in class. He won last time out on the Breeders’ Cup undercard and looked hugely impressive. A 4-1 price on the Morning Line is certainly tempting.
The four other horses are all priced up at 10-1 or longer with Stilleto Boy, Baby Yoda, Team Merchants and Timeless Bounty rounding out the field.
It is JN Campbell who is overseeing the Santa Anita card on Sunday, so check back with us later in the week to check out his thoughts on the card and of course the Grade I Malibu…