Had he lived, and he certainly tried, John Henry would have been 51 this year. As it was, he made it to 32, going down to the infirmities of old age Oct. 8, 2007, at the Kentucky Horse Park near Lexington.
What better way to mark the approaching date than to offer another edition of the John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (G2T) Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park. After all, the old boy won the race three times when it was called the Oak Tree Invitational Stakes and nearly took a fourth, were it not for the disruptive presence of a French mare named Zalataia, who beat the hometown favorite by half a length.
In those days, the race was offered at 1 1/2 miles. Then, in 1995, a full quarter of a mile was lopped off in deference, it appeared, to the growing limitations of the breed. Since then, the John Henry thankfully has remained at 1 1/4 miles, with a downhill start of about an eighth of a mile that can encourage some lickety-split final times, like the 1:57.16 seared into the record books by Red Giant in 2008, still the North American record.
The Oak Tree was John Henry's favorite race, and he would have tried to win another at the age of 9 in 1984, but for the temptation of a newfangled event called the Breeders' Cup. He never made it, though. Three days after John Henry led the headlines for those inaugural preentries, trainer Ron McAnally detected heat in his left foreleg. It was a suspensory strain, and that was that. Owner Sam Rubin was out his $133,000 fee, and racing lost the most popular equine personality the sport had known since the days of Secretariat.
There was a comeback try the following summer, but it fizzled, and John Henry's record was set in stone: A two-time Horse of the Year with 83 starts, 39 wins, 30 of those in stakes, seven Eclipse Awards, and record earnings just shy of $6.6 million, most of it while handled by McAnally. John Henry joined the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility and spent his 22 years of retirement as the longest-running attraction at the Horse Park's Hall of Champions.
Such a lofty bar for turf-loving, North American geldings has not been approached since John Henry's farewell, although the international stars Romantic Warrior, Rebel's Romance, Calandagan, and Cirrus des Aigles have kept the tradition alive and well. And while there are no John Henrys in the John Henry Turf Championship this weekend, the eight in the evenly matched field promise to put on a pretty good show in honor of his name.
They include Balladeer, winner of the 2023 John Henry, and three runners who finished within a length of victorious Test Score last time out in the Del Mar Handicap (G2T) Aug. 29—Atitlan, Atomic Age, and Mondego. The purse is the bare minimum of $200,000 for the race to remain eligible for its grading.
To peruse the past performances, it would seem that the 8-year-old Flashiest would have a lock on second money if things go his way. The son of Mizzen Mast is a veteran of 41 starts for trainer Leonard Powell and his partners—Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Nicky Drion, and Mathilde Powell—with no fewer than six of his nine runner-up finishes coming in graded stakes.
Some of Flashiest's best seconds have come in the last 12 months—to Truly Quality in the 2025 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G2T), and this year to Gold Phoenix in the San Luis Rey Stakes (G3T) and Mondego in the San Marcos Stakes (G3T) and the Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2T). A bankroll nearing half a million and such a collection of red ribbons helps offset an overall record that has gone winless for 15 starts over 28 months.
In spite of that, Flashiest is an obviously sound and very energetic specimen who answers to dark bay/brown and sports an elaborate blaze, with just a whiff of white on the inside of a hind ankle. His female family traces to the remarkable Quadrangle mare Square Angel, from the magical crop of 1970, whose roster of immediate descendants includes Dancing On a Cloud, winner of the inaugural Beverly D Stakes in 1987; 1986 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) winner Love Smitten, dam of Godolphin star Swain; and 1979 Canadian Oaks winner Kamar, who produced such household names as Key to the Moon, Seaside Attraction, and Gorgeous.
Flashiest was bred in Kentucky by Indian Creek and Drion, who has an operation based at Foxtale Farm near Nicholasville, Ky., and hails from a worldly racing family. His father, Ghislain Drion, managed the Aga Khan's stud farm in Ireland, and two brothers breed horses, one in Ireland, the other in France.
Leonard Powell was raised in Normandy at the farm of his father, David Powell, who bred Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds while writing about racing on the side. Powell and Drion were pals from their youth, trading visits back and forth to Ireland and France, learning the ropes before sailing off to find their fortunes in the States.
Powell posted his best season in 2025 with more than $2.4 million in stable earnings on just 254 starts. With prospects ahead for a solid autumn—including a swing at Keeneland's Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) with Del Mar Oaks (G1T) runner-up Lookin at Diamond—he could threaten last year's mark. But first things first. Can Flashiest snap back from his eighth-place finish in the Del Mar Handicap?
"I hope so," the trainer replied. "That race just didn't go his way. We rode him closer to the lead, and it seemed like the pace may have been a bit too strong, so he got tired late."
Flashiest was within a few lengths of the lead as the Del Mar field turned for home, but then the closers attacked.
"He may have been a bit short as well," Powell added, noting that his horse had not run since finishing fourth in the Belmont Gold Cup Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course in early June. "We know what he can do when he runs his race, though."
We do. Second place is very much in the mix. Asked if such a record of near misses was an ongoing frustration, Powell could barely suppress a grin.
"If you start complaining about finishing second in stakes," he said, "there's something wrong with you."
