Alpha, by Bernardini, certainly showed he was top notch January 7 with a victory in the Count Fleet Stakes to begin his three-year-old campaign. The colt becomes the 11th Stakes winner for his sire.
Making his fourth lifetime start here, Alpha had broken his maiden at Belmont last September with a powerful six length romp. He then followed with a strong second-place effort in the G1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont.
Sent off as the heavy favorite at Aqueduct, Alpha positioned himself on the outside in third during the one mile race. Always traveling comfortably, he began to move up entering the turn and took the lead at the one-eighth pole where there was no stopping him from there.
Bred by Darley, Alpha is out of the English Stakes winner Munnaya, by Nijinsky II. He is a half-brother to Stakes winner/Graded-placed Mystic Melody, Graded-placed Lavender Sky, and two other Stakes-placed runners. Munnaya is a half-sister to the Stakes winners and Graded-placed Sheer Reason and Mall Queen. The mare has a yearling colt by Bernardini as well.
An outstanding sire already, Bernardini has had the best start at stud by an American sire since 1973. He is now the sire of 11 Stakes winners from his first two crops of runners. Among them, G1 Cigar Mile winner To Honor And Serve as well as G1 Travers Stakes winner Stay Thirsty. A son of G1 winner Cara Rafaela, by Quiet American, he has already sired a strong eight G1 horses in these first two crops to date. His third crop of two-year-olds will race in 2012.
Bernardini will stand for $150,000 in 2012.
