I know this'll sound like stud duty redboarding, but I had a feeling this would happen about a month ago should IHA fail to win the TC (didn't think he'd never even get to try for it in the first place obviously). The more I looked into IHA's pedigree, the more I came to the conclusion that IHA would be a prime target for the Japanese to try to buy should the TC win not happen. They've shown an interest in doing that in the past with dual classic winners like Silver Charm and Charismatic, but there's an additional angle here that's Flower Alley specific.
They've got Princess Olivia, his dam, as well as Lilacs and Lace, a daughter of Flower Alley. I feel like there's more of a connection than that, but I can't remember what right now. They've obviously got an interest in that family. I'm interested to see whether the Japanese have ever tried to buy Flower Alley. I wouldn't be surprised. Even if his recent successes somehow end up being flukes, or he isn't able to capitalize on the improved books he's likely to get in the next year or two, he's not likely to be for sale for some time. Hence, IHA being sought by the Japanese. They tend to throw enough money to get what they want and no Triple Crown win coupled with the injury induced retirement probably sealed IHA's fate.
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