Flower Alley

Flower Alley (foaled May 7, 2002) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred at Bona Terra Farms by George Brunacini, who was killed in the August 27, 2006, crash of Comair Flight 5191 at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.

The colt is a son of Distorted Humor, a Mr. Prospector line sire whose other offspring includes dual classic winner and champion Funny Cide. Flower Alley is inbred 3×3 to Mr. Prospector. His dam is the winning Princess Olivia by Lycius. Flower Alley was bought by the Melnyk Racing Stables of Eugene Melnyk for $165,000 at the 2003 Keeneland September yearling sale because the colt's dam is named Olivia. Eugene Melnyk's daughter is named Olivia.

Flower Alley has won the Grade II Jim Dandy Stakes, the Grade II Lane's End Stakes (in his third career start), and, on August 27, the Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga. He was trained by Saratoga's leading trainer, Todd Pletcher, and was ridden in the Travers by top jockey John Velazquez. Flower Alley was second to Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year winner Saint Liam (who was euthanized in August 2006 after a freak accident) in the Breeders' Cup Classic on October 30, 2005.

Flower Alley spent his 2005 winter break in Ocala, Florida, at his owner's Winding Oaks Farm, then trained at Churchill 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 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey, on June 24, 2006. It was a 3¹⁄₄ -length victory as the 1-2 favorite. Out of 11 starts, he had now won 5, placed three times, and showed once. With that win in the slop, his earnings totaled more than $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 Flower Alley in Saratoga's G1 Woodward Stakes as well as the Breeder's Cup Classic, run this year at Churchill Downs.

On August 5, 2006, 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, again finishing seventh.

He finished 11th in the November 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, which was the last race of his career.

Stud career

Flower Alley stands at Three Chimneys Farm alongside Point Given, Rahy, Albert the Great, Big Brown, and their other stallions. The Midway, Kentucky, farm acquired a 50% ownership of Flower Alley, the second graded stakes winner by Distorted Humor to stand at stud. In May 2012 Flower Alley's son I'll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was suddenly retired on the eve of the Belmont Stakes with an injury to his left front tendon. The colt became the 12th horse whose Triple try was derailed since Affirmed swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1978, and it occurred without I’ll Have Another ever reaching the starting gate.

References

• Flower Alley's pedigree and racing record
• Classic career history
• National Thoroughbred Racing Association bio