MEET the £160million horse worth more than the most expensive footballer on the planet.
Superstar US thoroughbred Flightline has taken racing by storm and his colossal valuation is £12m more than Man City goal machine Erling Haaland’s current market value.
In fact, despite all the riches in the beautiful game, none of the top talent can even hold a candle to this monstrous four-year-old colt.
A tiny 2.5 per cent share in Flightline – who retired on Sunday after his jaw-dropping Breeders’ Cup Classic win – went for £4m yesterday.
The incredible sum is the price to be paid if you want a small slice of Flightline’s upcoming stud career.
Unbeaten in six races on the track, the John Sadler-trained superstar earned connections £3.3m.
But they can expect to make at least ten times that every year Flightline stands at stud in Kentucky, US.
Given he’s an almost certain colossal money-maker for the next few years, it’s no surprise not a single footballer’s current market value comes close to his worth.
According to Kylian Mbappe, the world’s second most expensive footballer, has a market value of £139m, some £9m less than Haaland and £21m below Flightline.
Real Madrid‘s Vinicius Jr, third on the list, is worth £105m, while Haaland‘s Man City team-mate Phil Foden is next on £96m.
Even Barcelona sensation Pedri, the world’s most expensive teenager, is worth a relatively paltry £87m.
Transfermarkt say England sensation Jude Bellingham has a true value of around £78m.
But even his reported £130m transfer fee falls some £30m short of Flightline’s confirmed worth.
WORLD-FIRST VIRTUAL AUCTION
The mystery buyer of the horse’s lucrative final share was kept secret.
But they won the bid after a frenzied auction session kept pushing the bar higher and higher – and even had people putting in offers via a unique ‘metaverse’.
For the first time ever, a virtual sales ring was set up that allowed you to get up close and personal with a computer-generated Flightline.
Surreal maybe, but the amount of cash changing hands was very, very real.
Freddy Seitz was the winning bidder, acting on behalf of the unknown buyer.
He said: “The buyer just called and said, ‘I really want to make a big splash and get involved a little more in the business’.
“I did not expect the price to go that high. It was pretty exciting.
“When you’re dealing with top property, you’ve got to pay.
“The buyer did not give me that kind of figure going in.
COULD MAKE UP TO £50M A YEAR
“I could tell once the bidding started maybe we were going to keep going.
“I was a little more nervous than he was. He and his family were watching. I think they had a good time.
“With a special horse like Flightline all you can do is get involved and then just hope for the best.
“There has never been a horse that has done what he has done for however many years, back to Secretariat.
“You just have to pay up and get involved, and this is kind of what heâs thinking.”
So what could Flightline make his owners every year?
Well it depends on what his stud fee is and how many mares he covered a year.
Galileo, the greatest sire of them all who died last year worth a reported £1billion, had a £600,000 fee at his peak.
But you have to earn that.
BUSY BOY AT STUD
Flightline – who has a massive lightning bolt scar on his hind quarters as a mark of a horrific incident he suffered as a two-year-old – could charge around £200,000 and could cover up to 250 mares a year.
At that maximum figure he could be worth £50m a year. No wonder his owners didn’t want him racing much longer.
A word of caution, though.
Big spending doesn’t always mean big success.
Step forward The Green Monkey, the infamous, record-breaking £14m purchase who proved a complete flop on the track and at stud.
And then there’s Fusaichi Pegasus, the £53.7m buy who was a dud at stud and covered mares at just £5,000 a pop.
Such a downfall looks nigh-on impossible for Flightline given his pedigree – he is by renowned sire Tapit.
And, if like British superstar Frankel, the only horse of recent times better than Flightline, he proves a super stallion, then his fee could increase.
Don’t forget there is also the chunk of progeny earnings to factor in too.
Galileo’s kids won more than £200m on the track thanks to 1,557 individual winners.
It’s not inconceivable that Flightline could consistently be bringing in £50m a year in the near future, although £30m to £40m is much more likely.
Not bad if you can get it.
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