Press Release, October 3, 2014

Alpha, son of leading sire and fellow Darley stallion Bernardini, and the first horse to win both the Travers and the Woodward in nearly fifteen years, will stand at Becky Thomas’s Sequel Stallions in New York

Raced in the famous royal blue silks of Godolphin, Alpha won his first start at two by six lengths and was so impressive that he next appeared in the G1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont where he finished a credible second.

Alpha returned at three with consecutive Stakes wins.  He won the Count Fleet by two-and-a-half lengths then bounced to victory by an even wider margin in the G3 Withers Stakes, a win that would prove to be the first of a hat-trick last achieved by his own sire Bernardini nearly ten years ago.

At Saratoga that summer, Alpha again emulated his father when winning the G2 Jim Dandy en route to victory in the time-honored G1 Travers, a race won by fellow Darley stallions Medaglia d’Oro and Street Sense, and a rare double won by legends of the breed including Easy Goer and Buckpasser generations ago.

Alpha added a second victory at the highest level in the G1 Woodward last year – posting a 109 Beyer Speed Figure in doing so.  His career earned him almost $2m in prize money and saw him defeat 13 G1 winners including the winners of the Kentucky Derby, the Haskell, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Stephen Foster.

As well as being a son of Eclipse Champion Bernardini, now the sire of nine G1 winners including recent Chandelier heroine Angela Renee, Alpha comes from a quality female family.

Charlie Boden, Head of Sales at Darley in America said, “No other stallion son of Bernardini has won more Grade Ones and with a physical and pedigree to match, we have no doubt he will thrive in New York.  He has a better race record than Tapit, and we certainly hope he will be as good.”

On standing him in New York, Boden commented, “We are committed to New York and they have the best regional breeding program in the US.  Our stallions have received great support there and Alpha has the record to suit.”

Alpha’s stud fee will be $8,500 live foal, stands and nurses.

For more information, please contact Charlie Boden on (859) 255-8537 or Becky Thomas on (352) 266-4294.