Grade 1 Winner Vekoma Retired To Spendthrift Farm For 2021

Multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Vekoma has been retired from racing and arrived at B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm, where the 4-year-old son of Candy Ride will take up stud duty in 2021. His fee has been set at $20,000 S&N.

This year's impressive winner of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap and G1 Met Mile, Vekoma was scratched as the morning-line favorite in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Sprint after spiking a fever upon arrival at Keeneland. He will be given a few days to settle in at Spendthrift before being available for inspection.

“Precocious, brilliantly fast, carried his speed around two turns – you name it, Vekoma could do it. On top of that, he is a Grade 1 winner by a Grade 1 winner and out of a Grade 1 winner, so he's truly a rare package in the breeding world. You won't find a more brilliant or better-bred son of Candy Ride. We are extremely excited about his future at stud and look forward to showing him off to breeders after he's been allowed a few days to settle in here,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “Any time a horse as good and as deserving as Vekoma does not get the opportunity to run in the Breeders' Cup, you are obviously disappointed for the horse and for the connections. There's so much hard work that gets put in. Ultimately, you have to credit George Weaver and his team for having an incredible season and always doing right by Vekoma through some hard luck at the end.”

Trained by George Weaver for owners R. A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, Vekoma was one of the top racehorses in his crop, capturing graded stakes wins at two, three and four. After breaking his maiden at first asking in 1:08 4/5 at Belmont, the talented chestnut stretched out to win the one-mile G3 Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct to complete an undefeated juvenile campaign.

At three, Vekoma jumped onto the Triple Crown trail, finishing third to Code of Honor in the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream in his seasonal debut. He went on to score a dominant 3 1/2-length win in the 1 1/8-mile G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, earning a berth into the Kentucky Derby.

This year, Vekoma was perfect with wins at three different racetracks, kicking off his 4-year-old season with a 3 3/4-length victory in Gulfstream's Sir Shackleton Stakes in March. Vekoma earned his first Grade 1 triumph in the form of a dazzling 7 1/4-length win in the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct, earning a career-high 110 Beyer Speed Figure. He validated his Carter performance with a front-running win in the prestigious Met Mile, defeating Grade 1 winners Code of Honor and McKinzie, among others, while stopping the clock in 1:32 4/5 – just .15 seconds off the stakes record for the 129-year-old fixture in New York.

An earner of $1,245,525, Vekoma was bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stables. He is out of the Speightstown mare Mona de Momma who scored her biggest win as a racehorse in the G1 Humana Distaff on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill. Vekoma's second dam, Society Gal, is a half-sister to successful sire Mr. Greeley.

Vekoma becomes the third Met Mile winner in the last four years to take up stud duty at Spendthrift. Mor Spirit, the 2017 winner, and Mitole, the 2019 winner, both stand at the historic Lexington-based farm.

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Ashford Stud To Offer Southern Hemisphere-Season Breedings For Resident Stallions

Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., will offer the services of its stallions remaining in the U.S. for the summer and fall for matings on the Southern Hemisphere season's schedule.

Top commercial sire Uncle Mo leads the way with a Southern Hemisphere season fee of $30,000. The 12-year-old son of Indian Charlie has seen his greatest Southern Hemisphere success in Australia, where his runners are led by Man From Uncle, winner of the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes and G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes.

Munnings, a 14-year-old Speightstown horse, will stand for $15,000. His top runner south of the Equator was Argentine-born Rock and Fellers, who was a group stakes-level competitor in his native country before being moved to race in the U.S.

Veteran sire Lookin at Lucky is advertised at $10,000. The 13-year-old son of Smart Strike has shuttled in the past to Australia and Chile, and he's proven especially effective in the latter country, finishing 2017 as the country's leading sire. His top Chilean-sired runners include Chilean Filly Triple Crown winner and U.S. Grade 1 winner Wow Cat, and Chilean Derby winner Full of Luck.

Following is a complete list of Ashford Stud's stallions available for Southern Hemisphere-time breeding, along with their advertised fees for the season.

Air Force Blue – $8,000
Competitive Edge – $5,000
Cupid – $5,000
Fusaichi Pegasus – $3,000
Lookin at Lucky – $10,000
Mo Town – $5,000
Munnings – $15,000
Practical Joke – $10,000
Tale of the Cat – $5,000
Uncle Mo – $30,000

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