Vekoma comes to this year's Breeders' Cup with stronger qualifications than many, as the winner of two Breeders' Cup Challenge races (the G1 Carter H., which got him a berth in the Sprint, and the G1 Metropolitan H., which got him a berth in the Dirt Mile). But he's also coming from a four-month layoff.
Trainer George Weaver said he's not concerned about the time away.
“It's not a year layoff, it's not a six-month layoff, it's four months,” said Weaver Monday morning. “Once we got him back in a breeze pattern, he jumped back into fitness very easily.”
About a month after the Met Mile, Weaver said the colt came up with a hoof abscess, and it took longer to resolve than he might have hoped. (Learn more about hoof abscesses in this 2015 Paulick Report feature.)
“Obviously we like to see our horses run,” he said. “I wanted him to run at the Forego at Saratoga. We were hoping to make the Vosbugh. Not so much as needing the races, we just wanted to see a star run.
“I'm never disappointed in the horse. It's horse racing. It is what it is. I didn't have any control over it. I know how good he is. I enjoy having him in the barn, and if they don't make the race, they don't make the race … if you let yourself get too worked up about it if you don't make the race, you'll drive yourself out of your mind.”
The 4-year-old, who is owned by R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, also took the Sir Shackleton Stakes in March, which was his 2020 debut. Other than his twelfth-place finish in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, he hasn't finished off the board, with wins in the G2 Blue Grass and G3 Nashua before that.
This also won't be his first long layoff, as he was on the shelf nearly a year between the Derby and the Sir Shackleton.
“He's been training very well,” said Weaver. “He's a feel-good horse and he's been doing well. All you've got to do is suit him up, put his helmet on and let him go play, he's going to show up.”
There was a lot of buzz about Vekoma earlier this year after his wins in two Breeders' Cup Challenge races, but that faded during his time away. Weaver said he knows his horse has something left to prove.
“That's the way this game is,” he said. “Anything you do, they forget about it. It only lasts a week or two and they move on to the next race that's been run.”
Although Vekoma has guaranteed spots in both the Sprint and the Dirt Mile, his pre-entry status indicates his connections' first preference is the Sprint. Weaver said he's expecting to see the same Vekoma he's used to showing up Saturday, layoff or no layoff.
This Breeders' Cup news is made possible in part by the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters (NTWAB), which has organized a group of pool reporters to assist off-site media in their coverage of the races.
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