Derby Contender #3- Alpha

Meet derby contestant #3 , Alpha. Alpha is another stunning athlete and he has been on my top 10 list for quite some time. He is the son of Bernandina which can be traced back to AP Indy, Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Spectacular Bid. His mother's side is not as spectacular, boasting names such as Northern Dancer, and Alydar. His current career earnings are $500,000, and he had a record of 6- 3-2-0. He has proven himself successful at distances of a mile, 7F, 1 mile 1/8, and 1 mile 1/16, with his only loss that was not in the money coming in the 2011 Breeders Cup Juvenile, which was won by Hansen. His sire , Bernandini competed in the 2006 triple crown and won the 2006 Preakness Stakes, which was dampered by the tragic breakdown of Barbaro .
Does he have a chance at claiming the elusive triple crown? Yes and heres why. I really like his breeding, with his sire's side boasting spectacular names and a few triple crown winners and triple crown race winners. What I really like about this horse is his sire, Bernandini. He has proven himself to be a classic sire by producing classic winners such as Stay Thirsty, Algorithms who is injured and off the derby trail and To Honor and Serve. I had Stay Thirsty in my exactas and trifectas in last year's derby and I think Alpha is going to follow in his half brother's footsteps by either winning or coming close to winning the derby, or winning the Belmont as Stay Thirsty did. His pedigree suggests he has the stamina to carry the distance, and in his most recent race he has shown the ability to close and close with speed. In his most recent start, he was boxed in, and he received a very bad trip but I was impressed by his ability to close for a very tough second place finish- he almost looked like a train coming by the other horses. I definitely will have this horse in my top 5 because of his closing ability he demonstrated in his last race, his sire and pedigree and his conformation. He looks and is built to be a classic distance horse. Come May 5, it will be seen whether or not he can handle a 20 horse field and the problems that can come from that, Aka having a ton of dirt kicked into his face.