Vekoma's Nashua Win has Connections Looking Ahead

When a 2-year-old as talented as Vekoma registers an impressive victory in a graded fall stakes at a major racetrack, a couple of things generally happen.

For one, horsemen tend to start talking about the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) in a tone above a whisper. These days, they also get calls inquiring whether all or part of the horse is up for sale.

For co-owners Randy Hill and Gatsas Stables and trainer George Weaver, there has indeed been euphoria since their unbeaten Vekoma registered a sharp 1 3/4-length triumph in the $200,000 Nashua Stakes (G3) Nov. 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack, defeating grade 2 winner Call Paul and a pair of highly regarded maiden winners from trainer Chad Brown's barn, runner-up Network Effect and U S Navy Cross, in the one-turn mile.

"A horse like this is what keeps me in the game," said New Hampshire resident Mike Gatsas, who operates Gatsas Stables. "It's very, very exciting, and hopefully Vekoma is as special as we think he is."

Special is indeed the operative word with Vekoma. His comfortable victory in the Nashua not only gave the Kentucky-bred a 2-for-2 record, but by winning in 1:36.62 and earning an impressive Equibase Speed Figure of 108, he has treated his connections to a new, tingling sensation at this time of year. All have been involved with graded stakes winners, yet this is their first experience with a 2-year-old who ranks among the division leaders in the fall and is considered an extremely promising Kentucky Derby candidate.

"I thought it was an extraordinary performance," Hill said. "I've never had a horse with this much potential and I've been doing this for more than 20 years."

Just to be safe, before leaving for a trip to France right after the Nashua, Hill instructed Weaver on what to say if anyone called about buying a share of Vekoma.

"I told George to tell people that I'm not selling right now," said Hill, who partnered with Gatsas and heeded Weaver's advice to buy Vekoma for $135,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. "I've waited my whole life for a horse like this. Down the road, I guess I can never say never, but to get my attention they would have to make me a really, really, really good offer."

With the first Saturday in May a little less than six months away, it can seem a century in the future for the connections of those talented 2-year-olds such as Vekoma who eventually will sort themselves out on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. There are miles to travel, months of training to endure, and some fiercely competitive races ahead, but at this moment Vekoma is certainly moving in the right direction, especially for a young colt who was born May 22, 2016.

"It feels good. The reason I got into this game is to have a chance to work with some good horses. We love all our horses, top to bottom, but I'm not sure if I've ever had a horse in the barn this talented at such a young age," said Weaver, who worked as an assistant for Todd Pletcher for five years before taking out his trainer's license. "It feels like a blessing when you look behind the webbing (in a stall) and see one that might be the real deal."

Hill and Gatsas are no strangers to success at the higher levels of the sport. Gatsas owned grade 2 winner Gander, a New York-bred who earned $1.8 million from 1998-2004, and grade 2 winner Shadow Caster. Hill owns a share of Divine Miss Grey, a former $16,000 claimer who closed out the Nov. 3 Breeders' Cup card at Churchill Downs by winning the $200,000 Chilukki Stakes (G2).

"Winning the Nashua, the day after Divine Miss Grey won a grade 2 stakes at Churchill Downs, it was a great weekend for me. It was the biggest weekend I've ever had in the sport and the biggest hangover," said Hill, who noted that he bought a half-share of the 4-year-old filly earlier this year. "I've never seen a claim like her. It's the best $130,000 I've ever spent."

Yet neither of them, through more than 20 years of ownership, has ever sent out a Kentucky Derby starter.

Weaver cared for a string of classic winners while working for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas from 1991-97. But since opening his own stable in 2002, his lone Kentucky Derby entrant was Tencendur, who finished 17th in the 2015 Kentucky Derby. Unlike Vekoma, that colt, who was second to Frosted  in the Twinspires.com Wood Memorial (G1), did not win his first race until he was 3.

"Vekoma is different than Tencendur," Weaver said. "Tencendur was a really big colt, not speedy, one-paced. He was learning how to run. Vekoma is precocious and is a forward horse. He's not rank in any way. From day one, you could tell he knew exactly what he was supposed to be and that he wants to be it."

Since Tencendur was a late bloomer, this will be Weaver's first attempt at mapping out a 3-year-old campaign for a top 2-year-old and he's not in a rush to make any decisions.

Vekoma arrived at Weaver's Palm Beach Downs barn in Florida Nov. 8 and it seems unlikely that he will return to New York for the 1 1/8-mile Remsen Stakes (G2) Dec. 1 at Aqueduct. 

"The Remsen is 27 days after the Nashua. He ran fast enough and hard enough that to bring him back in 27 days is probably not in his best interest. If he bounces back quickly and his energy level is high, maybe we'll consider it. But the feeling right now is that it's coming back too soon and doesn't fit our long-term plans," Weaver said. "We want to get him to the Kentucky Derby, if he's good enough. He's a young, May 22 baby. He's in Florida now and we'll let him tell us when he wants to run. I don't have a set plan in place for him but we want to put him in a position where he can run in the Derby."

Weaver's patient handling of Vekoma was first reflected in the way he did not rush the chestnut colt to debut at Saratoga Race Course. Instead, the 47-year-old trainer waited for a Sept. 23 maiden race at Belmont Park and was rewarded with 1 3/4-length triumph in a lively 1:08.93 for the six furlongs.

Having handled the jump from six furlongs to a mile, the big question for Vekoma, and so many other 2-year-olds, is how he will handle two turns. Bred by Alpha Delta Stables, Vekoma is by Candy Ride , whose offspring include 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner , Shared Belief, and Game Winner, which bodes well for him at a distance of ground. Yet his dam is Mona de Momma, winner of the 2010 Humana Distaff Stakes (G1) at seven furlongs, who is out of the sprint-sire Speightstown , entering some doubt into the equation.

"There's nothing in his training that tells me he won't handle more ground," Weaver said. "He's kind in his training and will do what we ask of him. He's out of a Speightstown mare, so, if a mile-and-a-quarter is not his optimal distance, it's not going to be a surprise. Yet from what I see in the morning and the way he acts, I don't know if he has any distance limitations. Candy Ride certainly can get some distance in him. We're going to find out this stuff, but either way, he a special colt."

Special enough that he has a cast of new characters poised to step onto the Road to the Kentucky Derby, and whether they make it to Louisville in May or fall short, they are surely having a grand time with a 2-year-old who just might be the horse of their dreams.

"We're little guys. The guys like Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher, and Bob Baffert, they rule racing and we've come up with a horse that so far looks like he's the best 2-year-old in training," Hill said. "It's exciting and gratifying. After a while you wonder if you're ever going to beat those guys and then you get a horse like this. It's a sensational feeling."