Getting to Know Flintshire

Flintshire wins the Sword Dancer at Saratoga, a Win and You're In event for the Breeders' Cup Turf. (NYRA Photo)
One of the most consistent horses running since his debut in May 2013, Flintshire has been all around the world over the past few years. On Aug. 29, the horse made his second trip to the United States to contest the Sword Dancer, a move that paid off as he won by an easy 2 ½ lengths.
With his victory in the “Win and You’re In” Sword Dancer at Saratoga, Flintshire secured a spot in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland, the same race he finished second in last year. If Flintshire runs in the Turf, he’ll definitely be one of the favorites so let’s get to know him a little bit.
Race Résumé
Trained by French genius Andre Fabre, Flintshire has the Juddmonte empire behind him.
They took their time with the Dansili son, letting him wait until May of his 3-year-old year to debut and it paid off with him scoring by 2 ½ lengths. In his first four starts, he won three of them by a combined five lengths, including the Group 1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris.
Flintshire’s first off-the-board finish came in the Qatar Prix Niel as a prep for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe but it was a close fourth with him finishing just 1 ¾ lengths behind the winning Kizuna. The Arc proved to be a tougher test and he finished eighth to Treve that year, ending his season with three wins and one second in six starts.
The colt we saw return to the track in 2014 was much different than the Flintshire of 2013 and he took the step up to a tougher group of horses admirably. He finished second to seven-time Group 1 winner Cirrus des Aigles in his season debut before running into a bump in the road in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud where he finished fifth.  
After that fifth-place finish, Flintshire spun off three straight second-place finishes but they were all to seriously good horses. The first was to 2013 Epsom Derby winner Ruler of the World, the second was in the Arc to the previous year’s winner Treve and the third was to dual Eclipse winner Main Sequence in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Flintshire finally made it back to the winner’s circle in December in the Longines Hong Kong Vase, a huge international win for the colt and one that brought him his second-highest career prize money at $1,213,245 for the win.
2014 HONG KONG VASE

Video courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
This year Flintshire was cursed by being a bridesmaid in his first four starts of the year. Finishing second to Dolniya by a neck in early March as a prep for Dubai, that race was replayed in the Dubai Sheema Classic Presented by Longines when Dolniya again beat Flintshire, this time by 2 ¼ lengths. Dolniya has since proved that her two wins over Flintshire weren’t a fluke finishing second, one spot ahead of Flintshire in the Investec Coronation Cup and third behind Treve and Flintshire in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in June.
The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud was Flintshire’s final race before the Sword Dancer and he was able to get the closest he’s ever gotten to Treve. Where he had been 12 lengths behind Treve in the 2013 Arc and two lengths back in the 2014 Arc, in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud he was 1 ¼ lengths.
Next up after that was the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes for Flintshire, but when the ground came up soft his change of plans took him to the United States for the Sword Dancer.
Breaking out of the gate, Flintshire was one of the final two to break but he quickly settled on the rail into the fifth position a few lengths behind the leader. Jockey Vincent Cheminaud unleashed Flintshire as they entered the far turn and within a few strides he had taken over the lead. While Red Rifle and Twilight Eclipse were both running at the end, there was no catching the French invader as he pulled away to win by three lengths.
2015 SWORD DANCER STAKES

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup World Championships
I’ll fully admit that coming into the Sword Dancer, I expected Flintshire to find some way to lose even though he was the class of the field. I’ve watched Flintshire quite a few times over the last few years and thought this would be another one of those races where he wouldn’t get himself up for first.
Not only did Flintshire prove me wrong, he also earned his second 131 Equibase Speed Figure (the other coming in last year’s Breeders’ Cup). There are only a few times I remember seeing an Equibase figure above about a 126 and both of Flintshire’s races are those times.
As for Flintshire’s potential in the Breeder’ Cup Turf, with Main Sequence out of the picture and a wide open U.S. turf division, he should have a big chance if he decides to come here again after the Arc. However, with it not clear who will be coming here from Europe yet, I’m not willing to put all my eggs in Flintshire’s basket until the Europeans in the picture become clearer.
Pedigree
Flintshire is a Juddmonte-bred so it isn’t a surprise that he has one of the strongest pedigrees of any Breeders’ Cup challenge race winner out there.
Flintshire is by Dansili, who is out of the great blue hen mare Hasili. Even though he stands in England, he has had great success in the United States, with recent champion Dank who also won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. He is also the sire of The Fugue, who was third in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf before running second in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Turf and multiple Grade 1 winner Laughing not to mention the subject horse here, Flintshire.
Flintshire is out of multiple group winner Dance Routine by influential sire Sadler’s Wells. His full brother is multiple stakes winner Dance Moves and one of his half-sisters has produced two stakes-placed racehorses.
Dance Routine only has five foals with four winners but she’s already made a big impact on racing through her foals and it looks like her offspring will help her make an even bigger mark in the future.
Flintshire’s second dam Apogee is what you would expect from a Juddmonte broodmare, a very good producer. Other than Dance Routine, she produced three other stakes winners and is the grand- and great-granddam of three others aside from Dance Routine’s foals.
Overall, there are 18 stakes winners in the first four generations of Flintshire’s immediate family with seven winning group or graded stakes events. Another 12 racehorses from the family have at least placed in a stakes race during their racing careers.
If Flintshire were to run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, he’d come into a similar schedule to last year’s race. The 5-year-old ran on Sept. 14 last year before going to the Arc on Oct. 5 and the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 1. While last year didn’t include that cross-Atlantic trip, that shouldn’t be a huge worry coming into the Breeders’ Cup with an extra two weeks to recover after the Sword Dancer.
The biggest concern about Flintshire and the Breeders’ Cup is if the horse will even come back over to contend the race.
Juddmonte’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe told the Daily Racing Form that Flintshire’s Breeders’ Cup participation depends on ground conditions, with the horse preferring firm turf, which could put a kink in his travel plans if Kentucky gets a lot of rain in the days and weeks leading up to the event.