John Henry’s Legacy Looms Over Wide-Open Renewal

Bloodhorse.com published this article on the G2 John Henry S. and its namesake on 9/25/2026. To read the full article, click here. Below is the excerpt on Flashiest, who was bred, raised and co-owned by Nicky Drion. Flashiest is a black-type winner who has hit the board in seven graded stakes, including the 2026 John Henry.

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.”