# First Flight Handicap

The First Flight Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late June/early July at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade II event open to fillies and Mares, ages three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs.
The race is named in honor of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 1946. First Flight won the Matron Stakes, and beat male opponents in winning the Belmont Futurity Stakes.
Inaugurated in 1978, the race has been hosted by Aqueduct Racetrack and Belmont Park:
* Aqueduct – 1978–1989, 1991–2002, 2004–2006
* Belmont – 1990, 2001, 2003, 2007–present

## Records

Speed record:
* 1:20.60 – Shared Interest (1992)
Most wins:
* 2 – Twist Afleet (1994, 1995)
* 2 – Country Hideaway (1999, 2000)
* 2 – Shine Again (2001, 2002)
Most wins by a jockey:
* 4 – Jerry Bailey (1987, 1990, 1992, 1994)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 6 – H. Allen Jerkens (1991, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2008)
Most wins by an owner:
* 3 – Bohemia Stable (1997, 2001, 2002)

## Winners

| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time |
| 2009 | Porte Bonheur | 4 | Ramon Domínguez | David Duggan | Johanna Murphy-Leopoldsberger | 1:22.45 |
| 2008 | Any Limit | 5 | Cornelio Velásquez | H. Allen Jerkens | Joseph V. Shields Jr. | 1:23.86 |
| 2007 | Ginger Punch | 4 | Rafael Bejarano | Robert J. Frankel | Stronach Stable | 1:22.64 |
| 2006 | Carmandia | 4 | Chris DeCarlo | Richard E. Dutrow Jr. | Four Roses Thoroughbreds | 1:22.91 |
| 2005 | Great Intentions | 4 | Edgar Prado | Michael E. Hushion | Barry K. Schwartz | 1:23.98 |
| 2004 | Bending Strings | 3 | Shaun Bridgmohan | Kiaran McLaughlin | John D. Gunther | 1:22.13 |
| 2003 | Randaroo | 3 | Heberto Castillo Jr. | Kiaran McLaughlin | H. Joseph Allen | 1:23.65 |
| 2002 | Shine Again | 5 | Jean-Luc Samyn | H. Allen Jerkens | Bohemia Stable | 1:23.75 |
| 2001 | Shine Again | 4 | Jean-Luc Samyn | H. Allen Jerkens | Bohemia Stable | 1:23.21 |
| 2000 | Country Hideaway | 4 | Jose Espinoza | C. R. McGaughey III | Ogden Phipps | 1:22.60 |
| 1999 | Country Hideaway | 3 | Heberto Castillo Jr. | C. R. McGaughey III | Ogden Phipps | 1:23.00 |
| 1998 | Catinca | 3 | Richard Migliore | John C. Kimmel | Robert K. Waxman | 1:22.14 |
| 1997 | Dixie Flag | 3 | Mike Luzzi | H. Allen Jerkens | Bohemia Stable | 1:22.84 |
| 1996 | Thunder Achiever | 3 | Robbie Davis | Carlos F. Martin | Flying Zee Stables | 1:21.59 |
| 1995 | Twist Afleet | 4 | Gary Stevens | John C. Kimmel | Lucille Conover | 1:22.95 |
| 1994 | Twist Afleet | 3 | Jerry Bailey | John C. Kimmel | Lucille Conover | 1:23.02 |
| 1993 | Raise Heck | 5 | Roger I. Velez | H. Allen Jerkens | Hobeau Farm | 1:23.51 |
| 1992 | Shared Interest | 4 | Jerry Bailey | Flint S. Schulhofer | Robert S. Evans | 1:20.65 |
| 1991 | Missy's Mirage | 3 | Eddie Maple | H. Allen Jerkens | Middletown Stables | 1:21.98 |
| 1990 | Queena | 4 | Jerry Bailey | C. R. McGaughey III | Emory G. Alexander | 1:22.40 |
| 1989 | Grecian Flight | 5 | Craig Perret | Joseph H. Pierce Jr. | Henry C. B. Lindh | 1:22.00 |
| 1988 | Cagey Exuberance | 4 | Joseph Imparato | Robert W. Camac | Lindsey D. Burbank | 1:24.40 |
| 1987 | Al's Helen | 4 | Jerry Bailey | Jack Van Berg | Kinsman Stable | 1:21.80 |
| 1986 | Chaldea | 6 | Jean-Luc Samyn | Thomas J. Skiffington | R. Lewis Mangum | 1:22.40 |
| 1985 | Alabama Nana | 4 | Jorge Velásquez | D. Wayne Lukas | Leonard D. Mathis | 1:22.20 |
| 1984 | Shortly | 4 | Mario G. Pino | James W. Murphy | Sam O. Graham | 1:22.60 |
| 1983 | Pert | 4 | Frank Lovato Jr. | Stephen A. DiMauro | Harold I. Snyder | 1:25.20 |
| 1982 | Number | 3 | Eddie Maple | Woody Stephens | Claiborne Farm | 1:22.20 |
| 1981 | Island Charm | 4 | Richard Migliore | Stephen A. DiMauro | David A. McKibbin | 1:23.60 |
| 1980 | Samarta Dancer | 4 | Cash Asmussen | Carlos A. Garcia | Gustave Ring | 1:25.60 |
| 1979 | Gladiolus | 5 | Laffit Pincay Jr. | Freeman E. McMillan | Sea Spray Farms | 1:22.40 |
| 1978 | What A Summer | 5 | Jeffrey Fell | LeRoy Jolley | Diana M. Firestone | 1:22.20 |