Broodmare daughters of Wilgerbosdrift’s inform stallion Flower Alley continue to make their mark, and Flower Alley once again made international headlines as a broodmare sire on Saturday when his maternal grandson Cyberknife captured Saturday’s G1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Winner of the G1 Arkansas Derby earlier in the season, Cyberknife had captured the G3 Matt Winn Stakes prior to his Haskell victory.
Cyberknife moved up strongly along the rail in the stretch to win the $1,017,500 Haskell while surging to a head victory in a track-record time of 1:46.24 for 1 1/8 miles over the Bob Baffert-trained Taiba.
Both Cyberknife and Taiba were sired by former US Horse Of The Year Gun Runner.
Up next is a van ride to Saratoga Race Course, where Cyberknife is expected to run in the G1 Runhappy Travers Stakes, which promises to have a huge say in who will be crowned the champion 3-year-old male.
Bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Cyberknife, who is out of the Flower Alley mare Awesome Flower, has now won five of nine starts for earnings of over $1.596 million. His dam, one of more than 30 stakes winners for Flower Alley thus far, won 11 races, and earned more than $500 000 in stakes, with Awesome Flower capturing six black type races.
The late summer and fall classics will hold a special meaning for Cyberknife as he stands to collect a $1 million bonus from BetMakers if he can add a victory in both the Travers and the Nov. 5 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland. Cyberknife secured a free spot in the Classic through Saturday’s win in a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” stakes.
Cyberknife joins the likes of Japanese star Lucky Lilac and G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile runner up Smooth Like Strait as a growing list of top-class performers produced by daughters of Flower Alley.