Wilgerbosdrift’s talented stallion Flower Alley continues to impress as a broodmare sire, and the former G1 Travers Stakes winner was back in the news as a broodmare sire when his maternal grandson Smooth Like Strait captured the War Chant Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Winner of the G3 Cecil B. Demille Stakes at two, progressive three-year-old Smooth Like Strait showed his class when victorious in War Chant Stakes (1600m) by one and three-quarter lengths.
Smooth Like Strait, a colt by Midnight Lute, has now won three of just seven starts.
He is out of the winning Flower Alley Smooth As Usual, who is also dam of the useful Chloe Belle, a winner of three of just six starts.
Also broodmare sire of Japanese star Lucky Lilac (winner of the recent G1 Osaka Hai), Flower Alley is currently the sire of 44 stakes horses and counting.
His Kentucky Derby/Preakness Stakes winning champion I’ll Have Another currently ranks above such star stallions as Into Mischief, Uncle Mo, Teofilo, Hard Spun and Curlin on The Blood-Horse’s Leading International Sires List for 2020.
Flower Alley has 18 lots on offer at the 2020 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale including a filly (Lot 165) out of G2 Gold Bracelet winner Gallica Rose, a half-sister (Lot 168) to July winning champion Marinaresco, a daughter (Lot 179) of the Montjeu sired G2 winner Gorongosa, and a half-brother (Lot 353) to G3 Prix du Cap winner Elusive Heart.