- Flower Alley
Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename= Flower Alley
caption=
sire=Distorted Humor
dam= Princess Olivia
damsire= Lycius
sex= Stallion
foaled= 2002
country= USA flagicon|USA
colour= Chestnut
breeder= George Brunacini & Bona Terra Farms
owner= Eugene & Laura Melnyk
trainer=Todd Pletcher
record= 13:5-3-1
earnings= $2,533,910
race=Travers Stakes (2005)
Lane's End Stakes (2005)
Jim Dandy Stakes (2005)
Salvator Mile Handicap (2006)
awards=
honours=
updated=Sept 15, 2006Flower Alley, born in
Georgetown, Kentucky on May 7, 2002, is an Americanthoroughbred racehorse. He was bred at Bona Terra Farms byGeorge Brunacini who was killed in the August 27, 2006 crash ofComair Flight 5191 atBlue Grass Airport inLexington, Kentucky .The colt is a son of
Distorted Humor , aMr. Prospector line sire whose other offspring include dual classic winner and championFunny Cide . Flower Alley is actually inbred 3x3 to Mr. Prospector. His dam is the winning Princess Olivia by Lycius. Flower Alley was bought by the Melnyk Racing Stables of Laura andEugene Melnyk for $165,000 at the 2003Keeneland September yearling Sale because the colt's dam is named Olivia. The Melnyks have a daughter named Olivia.Flower Alley has won the Grade II
Jim Dandy Stakes , the Grade IILane's End Stakes (in just his third career start), and, on August 27, the Grade ITravers Stakes at Saratoga. He is trained by Saratoga's leading trainer,Todd Pletcher , and was ridden in the Travers by top jockeyJohn Velazquez . Flower Alley was a very strong second toEclipse Award for Horse of the Year winnerSaint Liam (who was sadly euthanized in August 2006 after a freak accident) in theBreeders' Cup Classic on October 30, 2005.Afleet Alex won theEclipse Award for champion three-year-old in 2005, but Flower Alley ran a 110 or betterBeyer Speed Figure in his three wins, while Alex only ran a Beyer that high in thePreakness .Flower Alley spent his 2005 winter break in
Ocala, Florida at his owner's Winding Oaks Farm, then trained atChurchill Downs for an early summer return to the track.At four
Flower Alley, under his Travers Stakes jockey John Velazquez (who skipped his Saturday Belmont mounts to ride the four-year-old), came back to the races as the favorite to win the Grade III $150,000
Salvator Mile Handicap atMonmouth Park inOceanport, New Jersey on June 24th, 2006. It was a 3 1/4 -length victory as the 1-2 favorite over a difficult track. Out of 11 starts, he has now won 5, placed three times, and showed once. With that latest convincing win in the slop, his earnings were well over $2,500,000.After the Salvator Mile, Todd Pletcher said, "We'll go to the
Whitney Stakes on August 5th now, if everything goes smoothly." Pletcher also planned to run him in Saratoga's G1Woodward Stakes as well as a second try at the Breeder's Cup Classic, run this year atChurchill Downs .On August 5th 2005, Invasor, an Argentine bred son of Candy Stripes, won the Whitney by a nose to the surging Sun King. Flower Alley (joint favorite) made a brief run at the leading horses, then faded to come home seventh. Flower Alley also failed to hit the board in the Woodward Stakes also coming home in 7th.
He finished 11th in the November 2006
Breeders' Cup Classic atChurchill Downs , which may be the last race of his career.When the Race is Over
Flower Alley is to stand at
Three Chimneys Farm alongsideDynaformer ,Point Given , Rahy, Albert the Great,Smarty Jones and their other stallions. In 2007, his stud fee will be $25,000. TheMidway, Kentucky farm has also acquired a 50% ownership of Flower Alley, the second graded stakes winner byDistorted Humor to stand at stud.References
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/flower+alley Flower Alley's pedigree and racing record]
* [http://www.tbcprojects.com/career.php?search=4175 Classic career history]
* [http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=19246 National Thoroughbred Racing Association bio]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.