Wilgerbosdrift’s G1 winning stallion Flower Alley continues to make waves as a broodmare sire, and the son of outstanding broodmare sire Distorted Humor made headlines in North America on Saturday as the maternal grandsire of Saturday’s G1 Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife.
Cyberknife, bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey in Kentucky out of the Flower Alley mare Awesome Flower, notched his first stakes win in his sixth career start. His previous start in a stakes came in the Jan. 22 Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots when he finished a well-beaten sixth.
Cyberknife, who unseated jockey Florent Geroux in the post parade, was sent off at 5-1 odds and was fourth after an opening quarter-mile in :22.11. He then moved up between horses on the backstretch under Geroux and took over from the front-running Kavod midway on the final turn.
Barber Road and Secret Oath, who were eighth and ninth, respectively, after a half-mile were the only horses who mounted charges from the rear as Cyberknife spurted away to a 2 1/2-length lead at the eighth pole and extended his margin slightly in the final furlong while covering the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.42.
A three-year-old son of Gun Runner and the Flower Alley mare Awesome Flower, Cyberknife made it three wins from just six starts with a fluent win in Saturday’s $1.25 million race.
In the process, the Brad Cox trained Cyberknife picked up 100 qualifying points and ensured the colt a spot in the 2022 Kentucky Derby.
He is out of Flower Alley’s talented daughter Awesome Flower, whose 11 career victories included six stakes victories and she also finished third in the G2 Chilukki Stakes.
Cyberknife joins the likes of Japanese star Lucky Lilac and Shoemaker Mile Stakes winner Smooth Like Strait as G1 winners produced by daughters of Flower Alley.
The latter, whose Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein bred daughter Evening Primrose ran third in Saturday’s G2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks, has 11 lots on offer at the upcoming National Sale.