Alpha asserts dominance to join New York Watch

Alpha is already living up to his name (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

When Kiaran McLaughlin entered
ALPHA
(Bernardini) in Saturday’s

7TH race at Saratoga, the trainer thought he had picked a difficult
spot for the colt to make his debut. Not only was the race seven
furlongs, it also featured well-regarded horses who had the benefit of a
previous start.

“(Alpha) drew down toward the inside, the 3 hole he had, and I was
afraid of two who had already started (Invocation [Pulpit] and
Africanist [Johannesburg]) because seven-eighths is a hard distance
first-time out,” McLaughlin said.

Alpha made those concerns moot by securing the fourth position up the
backstretch, advancing into second on the far turn, reeling in the
free-running pacesetter with three-sixteenths left, and needing only
intermittent urging from jockey Alan Garcia to win by six lengths. The
final time for the seven furlongs was 1:23 4/5.

“It was a ‘wow’ performance,” McLaughlin said. “He ran huge.
Everything went right for him and he won easily. We don’t win that often
first-time out, so that was nice.”

Alpha, a Darley Stable homebred, is out of the Nijinsky II mare Munnaya, who
won an English listed stakes. Munnaya has produced four horses with black-type,
including Mystic Melody (Seattle Slew), who in France captured a listed stakes
and placed in two Group 3 events.