Most of the talk about Horse of the Year centers on the long-awaited clash between the undefeated Flightline  and Life Is Good   in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

One of them centers around Olympiad  . If the 4-year-old son of Speightstown   wins the Nov. 5 Classic at Keeneland, it would be proof positive that he deserves to be Horse of the Year.

Aside from the possibility of a victory in the $6 million Classic that would give him a win over both Flightline and Life Is Good in the year’s most star-studded stakes. Olympiad has been practically perfect this year for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Bought for $700,000 by Solis/Litt from the Gainesway consignment at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, he has won six of his seven 2022 starts, capped by a victory in the Sept. 3 1 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) for his initial grade 1 score.

“Historically that’s pretty much the way it goes in a year like this, with the winner of the Classic being Horse of the Year,” said Robert Clay of Grandview Equine, which owns Olympiad along with Everett Dobson’s Cheyenne Stable and the Roth family’s LNJ Foxwoods. “But we’re just taking it one race at a time. Flightline certainly catches a lot of attention and he may be the best horse we’ve seen in a while, but it’s still a horse race.”

One of nine horses pre-entered in the Classic, Olympiad reentered the Horse of the Year picture in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, a race that was never on Olympiad’s itinerary until he suffered his lone loss of the year. The colt bred by Emory A. Hamilton out of the Medaglia d’Oro   mare Tokyo Time had faced a defining moment earlier in the Saratoga Race Course meet when he took on Life Is Good in the Whitney Stakes (G1) off a string of four straight stakes wins, three in grade 2 stakes.

He was sent off as the 9-5 second choice in the Whitney, but had no impact on the outcome, finishing a disappointing fourth, 9 1/4 lengths behind Life Is Good.

The loss was a head-scratcher for Mott, who to this day cannot find a compelling reason for it other than a wet track that was labeled “good” and the muggy, humid conditions.

“He’s had a very good year. The only downfall was the Whitney and the dull race was unexplainable except that it was a hot, humid day,” said Mott, a two-time Classic winner. “Probably one of the hottest days (at Saratoga). He seemed a little dull and that’s the only excuse I can give him. He was getting the trip he needed early in the race and just didn’t fire.”

Once Olympiad showed his usual vim and vigor a week after the Whitney, Mott steered Olympiad to the 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup, which wound up removing an important question mark before the Classic. While a strong showing in the Whitney most likely would have led to a final prep in the 1 1/8-mile Woodward Stakes (G1)—a path Life Is Good followed—by running in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and racing beyond nine furlongs for the first time, his two-length victory showed that the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Classic will not be beyond his scope.

“He’s proven he’ll get the mile and a quarter and he’ll have to be good (at the Breeders’ Cup) because it’s a very competitive Classic,” Mott said. “It’s a great spectator race. Being a racing fan and someone who loves to watch really good horses, I’m anxious to see the race and glad to be in it.” 

Most of the intrigue about the Classic involves the early pace, with Flightline and Life Is Good expected to flash their blazing speed in a memorable duel. Yet Olympiad should not be far removed from that scene. The $2 million earner also has keen early speed, typically running a length or two behind in the top three through the early furlongs, and Clay expects a similar showing in the Classic.

“His races have been pretty consistent except for the Whitney. He’s always been just off the lead, but he has tactical speed and he can be close enough,” Clay said. “I suspect we’ll run the same type of race in the Breeders’ Cup. It all depends on fast they go. We’ll be behind them, but not too far.”

While Clay said future plans for the winner of eight of 12 career starts would not be made until after the Breeders’ Cup, the Oct. 24 announcement that Olympiad will ultimately stand at Gainesway Farm as a stallion is the kind of news that generally starts the clock ticking on the end of a successful runner’s racing career. Yet before that happens, the Classic, which is being painted as a test of greatness for the favored Flightline, could also provide a very telling statement about just how good and talented Olympiad has become despite the obstacle of being sidelined for a full year between his 2- and 3-year-old campaigns.

“Our horse is doing well and training well at Saratoga. He’s a real professional. He has it all. He’ll make a great stallion but it’s hard to see a horse like this leave the racetrack. It’s a hard decision to make, but the Classic should be a great horse race,” Clay said. “If Flightline is as good as we think he is, nobody is going to beat him. But everyone has to run and you never know what can happen in a horse race.”