Lukes Alley Adds to Melnyk, Carroll's Success
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Less than 45 minutes after enjoying grade II success at Keeneland, owner-breeder Eugene Melnyk and trainer Josie Carroll teamed to take the Durham Cup Stakes (Can-III) at Woodbine with Lukes Alley .
Are You Kidding Me led the field into the opening turn of the Durham Cup, with fractions of :25.04 and :49.18 while tracked by Alpha Bettor and Developer. Woodbine's leading rider Luis Contreras had settled Lukes Alley into fourth position down the backstretch and confidently urged his mount into action heading into the far turn.
While racing wide into the stretch, Lukes Alley straightened out to put away the pacesetter and held off the late rally of His Race to Win for a three-quarter length victory. Lukes Alley covered 1 1/8-miles in 1:49.23, just two ticks off the track record time of 1:48.97 held by River Rush.
"He was nice and relaxed throughout the race. The only horse I was worried about was His Race to Win," said Contreras. "My horse came out a little into the stretch, but I switched my whip and at that point he was straight."
Lukes Alley, a 4-year-old bay son of Flower Alley —Vaulcluse (by A.P. Indy), was posting his first stakes victory in his second stakes start. The colt previously finished sixth in the Hawthorne Derby (gr. IIIT) last October.
The winner paid $9.80, $4.90, and $3.30. His Race to Win was worth $5.00 and $3.30, with Are You Kidding Me holding third at $4.20. Alpha Bettor, Boisterous, and Developer completed the order.
Lukes Alley, produced from the stakes-winning A.P. Indy mare Vaulcluse, improved his record to five wins in eight starts, with earnings of $279,085.
The Durham Cup capped a big day for Melnyk and Carroll, who also won the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland with Leigh Court.