Wilgerbosdrift’s resident stallion Flower Alley was represented by his fourth individual Gr1 winner when his son Bullards Alley landed the Pattison Canadian International at Woodbine on Sunday in record breaking fashion.
Flower Alley
Sent off a 42-1 long-shot for the $800 000 contest, Bullards Alley won by a record breaking margin of 10.75 lengths – the largest ever in a race won previously by the likes of Secretariat, Dahlia, Exceller, Youth, Royal Anthem and Singspiel.
With a stalking trip in fourth early Sunday under jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva, Bullards Alley took command as the field turned for home and pulled away from the rest without any challenge
“He ran the best race of his life … at Churchill last year on a (wet) turf course, so we knew he liked it, but so did the Europeans and a lot of others in the field,” said winning trainer Tim Glyshaw, who also won his first top-level race and third graded contest overall. “I think today he just got first jump on them, and sometimes they stay off you when you’re a longshot like that. It was too late for them.
Bullards Alley had the likes of multiple graded stakes winners Oscar Nominated and Flamboyant well beaten back in second and third respectively. Further back in running came G2 Hardwicke Stakes hero Idaho (4th), last year’s winner and G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Erupt (5th), progressive G3 September Stakes winner Chemical Charge (6th), and Johnny Bear (winner of the G1 Northern Dancer Stakes) back in last position.
The five-year-old gelding, bred by Eugene Melnyk –who raced Flower Alley himself, has now won six times with Sunday’s Gr1 victory pushing Bullards Alley’s earnings to $841 989. The gelding has now won or placed in seven stakes races, with his previous wins including the Gr3 Louisville Handicap.
Bullards Alley, who was produced by the Kris S mare Flower Forest, is a full-brother to Gr2 Sky Classic winner Karibu Gardens.
His Gr1 Travers Stakes winning sire Flower Alley, whose first South African born yearlings sell in 2018, is also sire of previous Gr1 winners I’ll Have Another (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Santa Anita Derby), Lilacs And Lace (Ashland Stakes), and Lukes Alley (Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap).
