Flower Alley Blooms at Travers Stakes

Flower Alley overtook Bellamy Road in the stretch en route to winning Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

After running ninth in the Kentucky Derby in May, Flower Alley has shown steady improvement and was coming off an impressive 5 1/4-length victory in the Jim Dandy Stakes on July 30.

Flower Alley broke from the far outside seventh post with John Velazquez in the saddle and stalked Bellamy Road throughout before finally taking command in mid-stretch. "This is great. It is very special to me," Velazquez said. "From the start, I wasn't going to let Bellamy Road go. I got after him at the three-eighths pole and then I asked him and he took off and I still had a lot left. He was very good today."

Drawing off to a 2 1/2-length victory, Flower Alley covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.76, giving trainer Todd Pletcher his first career victory in the Travers. Flower Alley paid $8.00, $4.00 and $2.70. Flower Alley became the sixth horse to complete the Jim Dandy-Travers exacta. Medaglia D'Oro was the most recent in 2002.

Meanwhile, Bellamy Road was making his first start since fading to seventh as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old colt had been sidelined by a leg injury.

Ridden by Javier Castellano and owned by New York Yankees boss George Steinbrenner, Bellamy Road went to the front and stayed there before being run down by Flower Alley. He hung on for second and returned $4.10 and $3.00.

"I thought Bellamy Road was really something," said Nick Zito, the trainer for Bellamy Road. "He hasn't run in four months. I salute Flower Alley, but I also salute Bellamy Road. Four months coming off the bench, and he give us this. What a future he's got! The winner rode a tremendous race."

Roman Ruler, who was coming off a victory in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on August 7, went off as the favorite and never was a factor but finished third. He paid $2.50 with Jerry Bailey aboard.

Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and Afleet Alex, who won both the Preakness and Belmont, were sidelined with injuries.

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