Grade 2-placed winner Hello Broadway, a 15-year-old son of Broken Vow, is the fourth sire added this year to Michael Ingrassia and Brian Thomas' growing stallion operation near Charles Town, W.Va., known as Flowing Acres Farm.
The half brother to grade 1 winner Nobiz Like Shobiz (by Albert the Great) had been standing at Ups & Downs Farm near Citra, Fla., as the property of the late horseman Monte Thomas, Brian's father, who died in September 2019.
"(Monte and his wife, Cathy) were mostly breeding the stallion to their own stock and finding success," said Ingrassia, noting that Hello Broadway has sired 20 winners from 28 starters. "Brian inherited the horse and this looks like the right move to bring him to West Virginia and get him more opportunities. He is a beautiful specimen."
Hello Broadway has sired a couple of black-type performers: My Sweet Dove, a Peter Lawson homebred trained by Monte Thomas that won the Sandpiper Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs; and, Harryhee, who won a non-black-type stakes at Gulfstream Park and was runner-up in the black-type Trinniberg Stakes, also at Gulfstream. The sire's daughter, U and Tequila, didn't earn black-type but she set two 4 1/2-furlong track records at Mahoning Valley Race Course in 2017, getting the first record in :52.50 in January and then breaking her own record in December going :50.82. The mare raced 55 times and earned $213,062.
The strength of the West Virginia-bred program, Charles Town's proximity to breeders in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and Thomas' experience racing in West Virginia alongside his father all contributed to the establishment of Flowing Acres.
The farm opened its breeding shed last year with first-year sire Lord of Greatness, a winning son of Greatness, who previously stood several years at Prestige Stallions at Stonewall Farm near Ocala and now stands at Solera Farm. Lord of Greatness is out of Dowager Lady, a half sister to Christmas in Aiken, who is the dam of prominent sire Harlan's Holiday. Lord of Greatness is also a full brother to grade 3-placed, nine-time black-type winner Good Lord.
"He ran 74 races in Canada, won 18 times, and was stakes-placed," said Ingrassia. "He is an outstanding individual; the real McCoy. With his sire by Mr. Prospector, I see nothing but unbelievable on top and bottom."
This year Flowing Acres also added to its roster grade 1 winner and Canadian champion Lukes Alley and is leasing 2011 Charles Town Classic Stakes (G3) winner Duke of Mischief from McMaster Farm. Lukes Alley is beginning his first year at stud.
Lukes Alley is a Eugene Melnyk homebred by Flower Alley out of the stakes winner Vaulcluse (A.P. Indy). He raced from 3 to 7 in the United States and Canada, winning three graded stakes—the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1T), Autumn Stakes (G2), and Durham Cup Stakes (G3). Named Canadian champion older horse in 2014, Lukes Alley compiled a 9-4-0 record from 18 starts and earned $795,122.
"He's as good as they come," said Ingrassia, who has been involved in racing for about a dozen years. "He has superstars on both sides of his pedigree. My plan is to stand him in West Virginia, but I think he crosses over to the Maryland circuit. Flower Alley was a dirt horse, but he can sire both dirt and turf."
Duke of Mischief is a four-time graded stakes winner bred in Florida by Marilyn McMaster, who campaigned the horse with Alex and JoAnn Lieblong and trainer David Fawkes. He won his first black-type stakes at 3 in the Iowa Derby and went on to win the Oaklawn Handicap (G2), Philip H. Iselin Stakes (G3), and Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (G3) at 4, and the Charles Town Classic at 5. Duke of Mischief retired with a 7-5-0 record from 30 starts and earned $1,905,747.
Duke of Mischief entered stud in 2014 and has sired 26 winners from 48 runners so far.
All four of Flowing Acres stallions are standing for private fees.
"West Virginia has an outstanding program and 18 months ago when I decided to start a breeding business, this was where I wanted to be," Ingrassia said. "I'm really excited. Brian knows everybody and has all the respect. I feel like we have a lot of good energy."
