Vekoma defeated Network Effect and Code of Honor by 1 ¼ lengths in the Met Mile, leading throughout the one-mile contest.

“I actually did think he could be on the lead,” Weaver said after the race. “I thought we had the most natural speed of the horses in the race. I knew the outside horses liked to show speed, but at the end of the day I thought if we broke well, they might just be caught chasing. When I talked to Javier in the paddock, he was non-committal, and I said the whole time that I know Javier understands this horse and feels what he can and can't do, and I left it in his hands.

“At the quarter pole, it seemed like all comers were coming and I thought 'Man, does he have anything left in the tank or not?' When they got to the eighth pole and I saw him rebreak and keep going, I got excited. It was fun.”

The big wins have increased Vekoma's career earnings to $1,245,525, making him Weaver's highest earner since the trainer took out his license in 2002.

“I was so proud of him,” said Weaver. “Physically he's matured and filled out, and I really couldn't be any happier with him.”

The Met Mile was Weaver's fourth top-level win as a trainer, following Saratoga County's win in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in 2005 and Lighthouse Bay's win in the Grade 1 Prioress in 2013.

Still, the Louisville native grew up with dreams of the Kentucky Derby. He made his inaugural Run for the Roses in 2015 with Tencendur, but that horse faded to finish 17th.

Early last year, Weaver had gotten excited that Vekoma might give him a stronger chance in a second trip to the Derby. The colt won the G2 Nashua as a juvenile, and made his 3-year-old debut a third-place finish in the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. In April, Vekoma dominated the G2 Blue Grass Stakes by 3 ½ lengths, securing his spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby.

Unfortunately, Vekoma disappointed on the day, up close early and fading to finish 12th, and the colt was sent to the farm for a break that lasted the remainder of 2019.

“He did not perform well on Derby day, and I don't know if it was the (sloppy) track or if it just wasn't his day,” Weaver said. “He's a terrifically talented racehorse, and I've always thought he was a star. Obviously, we were hoping to do better in the Derby, but history shows that a lot of really nice horses don't run well on the first Saturday in May.”

Bringing the colt back to the races involved a lot of dedication from both Weaver and his wife and business partner, Cindy Hutter. The couple first met in 1991 when they were employed by D. Wayne Lukas, but didn't date until they both made the move to trainer Todd Pletcher's team.

Pletcher, also employed by Lukas early in his career, left the Hall of Famer to go out on his own in 1996, and Hutter went along as his assistant. Weaver made the move to Pletcher's barn in 1997, but as assistant trainers, he and Hutter had to work at separate locations for much of the year.

In 2002, the couple made the decision to stick together and work for themselves.

“We decided to make a go of it and do everything all at once,” Weaver explained. “We went into business for ourselves, we bought a house, had a kid; we didn't hold back and did it all at once.”

Today, 18 years later, Hutter is very hands-on with the horses while Weaver is able to handle many of the business aspects like communicating with owners and planning races.

When it came time to bring Vekoma back to the races early in 2020, Hutter was on the talented colt's back nearly every morning.

“She's gotten on him most of his career,” Weaver said. “I have confidence when she tells me they're doing well. She's a great horseperson and knows our horses very well.”

In late March, Vekoma made his first start off a nine-month layoff a winning one in Gulfstream's listed Sir Shackleton Stakes, dominating the seven furlong-contest by 3 ¾ lengths. Though his next start was delayed a bit by the coronavirus pandemic, Vekoma didn't miss a beat and celebrated his first Grade 1 win with an impressive romp in the Carter Handicap, a Win and You're In Challenge Series race for the Breeders' Cup.

With a 7 ¼-length win and a final time of 1:21.02 for seven furlongs, Vekoma earned an automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Met Mile win earned the colt a slot in the Dirt Mile, so there are plenty of options leading up to this year's World Championships.

“Nothing's written in stone, but we'll probably focus on a mile or under going forward,” Weaver said. “We're going to nominate to the Whitney for sure, but he's run two huge races back-to-back. The most likely scenario, to me, is that he would come back in a race like the Forego. We want to plot a campaign to get us to the Breeders' Cup, so we'll take a look at the calendar and go from there.”

“I think he's the best older horse in the country,” co-owner Randy Hill told NYRA publicity. “The horse will tell us. He's such a warrior.”

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“What a horse,” an emphatic Hill said. “I'll never own another horse like this. I've watched the race about 20 times and it just gives me goosebumps. I really wish I could have been there, but I'd rather win than be there and lose them.”

Owned by Hill in partnership with Gatsas Stables, Vekoma's win earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure. Vekoma controlled the pace before being confronted around the far turn. He shook off his competition when asked by Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano and drew off to a 1 1/4-length score, keeping his record as a 4-year-old unblemished in three starts for trainer George Weaver.

Prior to the Runhappy Met Mile, Vekoma won the Sir Shackleton at Gulfstream Park in his 2020 debut before an impressive 7 1/4-length win in the Grade 1 Runhappy Carter on June 6 at Belmont Park, netting a 110 Beyer.

The Grade 1, $300,000 Forego presented by America's Best Racing on August 29 at Saratoga Race Course could be the next start for Vekoma, Hill said.

Hill also mentioned the possibility of Vekoma training up to the Breeders' Cup World Championships on November 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course.

Vekoma has earned an automatic entry into both the Breeders' Cup Sprint and the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile when taking the Runhappy Carter and Runhappy Met Mile, which are both Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” events.

“I think he's the best older horse in the country,” Hill said. “George is thinking about the Forego or training right up to the Breeders' Cup and we leave all of that up to him. The horse will tell us. He's such a warrior.”

Blair Golen, who oversees Weaver's Belmont string, reported that the Runhappy Met Mile hero emerged from Saturday's triumph in good shape.

“He came out of it in good order,” Golen said. “What impressed me last time and this time was that he wasn't that tired. When he ran here at seven furlongs, he recovered fast and was really on the muscle, and it was the same again this time too.”

Bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stables, Vekoma is by multiple-champion producing stallion Candy Ride out of the Speightstown broodmare Mona de Momma who, like Vekoma, also was a Grade 1-winner going seven furlongs.

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Trained by George Weaver, Vekoma –  4-year-old colt by Candy Ride out of G1 Humana Distaff winner Mona de Momma, by Speightstown – covered one mile on a fast track in 1:32.88 after setting fractions of :22.73, :45.87 and 1:09.57.

Network Effect, who altered course in the stretch after lacking room along the rail, finished second. Code of Honor closed on the outside for third, with Warrior's Charge fourth and McKinzie fifth in the field of eight older runners.

Vekoma carried 123 pounds, two less than high-weight McKinzie. Both went off at 9-5.

The win was the sixth in eight starts for Vekoma, winner of the G3 Nashua at 2 in 2018, the G2 Blue Grass Stakes in 2019 and then 13th in the G1 Kentucky Derby. Given a lengthy rest by Weaver after the Derby, Vekoma came back in March to win the Sir Shackleton Stakes at Gulfstream, then came from just off the pace to win the G1 Carter Handicap on June 6. Network Effect finished second that day, too.

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The recent eye-popping victory under Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano, which garnered a 110 Beyer, was a second start of the year for the Candy Ride chestnut colt who made his 2020 bow a winning one in the Sir Shackleton on March 28 at Gulfstream Park. Last year, Vekoma earned accolades heading into the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby after drawing away to victory in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland for trainer George Weaver.

To earn a second Grade 1 victory, Vekoma will have to topple a field that includes last year's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup-victor Code of Honor and McKinzie, the winner of last year's Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga.

Already a winner going a one-turn mile during his 2-year-old campaign in the Grade 3 Nashua, Vekoma will be stretching back out to a mile from the seven-furlong Carter.

“He's got so much talent it's unreal,” said co-owner Mike Gatsas. “I think he can handle it. Javier knows the horse very well and he can get the distance without a problem. They have a great rapport with one another, so we'll let him decide on a trip.”

In both of his 4-year-old starts, Vekoma has displayed tactical speed sitting just off of the pacesetters before making a winning bid at the top of the stretch.

Gatsas anticipates that Vekoma will display a similar running style on Saturday.

“He has some early speed, so he'll help set the pace somewhat,” Gatsas said. “He won't be on the lead, but he should be forwardly placed. Javier rides him extremely well and understands him well, so he knows what he's doing.”

Vekoma, named after a Dutch manufacturing company of roller coasters as a nod to his champion-producing sire's name, has taken his connections on an exciting ride. Hill and Gatsas also partnered with graded stakes-placed Our Country, who ran eighth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last November at Santa Anita as well as New York-bred stakes winner Funny Guy.

“It's such a great partnership, but what's really good about it is that it's also a great friendship,” Gatsas said. “We've had a lot of fun over the years. We've gone to the Derby, the Breeders' Cup together and we just won the Carter so it's been such a fun experience.”

Vekoma, bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stables, is out of the Speightstown broodmare Mona de Momma who also is a Grade 1 winner going seven furlongs.

Being a Grade 1 winner with a Grade 1-winning sire and dam makes Vekoma quite enticing as a stallion prospect, but Gatsas said a triumph in the Runhappy Met Mile, which is known for being a “stallion making race”, could make his breeding value even more appealing.

“Hopefully this adds to his resume,” Gatsas said. “He also won the Blue Grass last year so I'm sure a lot of Kentucky farms would be interested in that. He took down that field real well, too.

“He's just such a special horse,” Gatsas added. “He's not a big, strapping colt, but he is really well-built.”

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The Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile, open to 3-year-olds and up and offering a berth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland, headlines a Runhappy Met Mile Day card offering five graded stakes on Independence Day. Also featured is the Grade 1, $400,000 Manhattan for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/4-miles on turf; the Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban, a 10-furlong test for 4-year-olds and upward; the Grade 3, $150,000 Poker, a one-mile turf test for older horses; and the Grade 3, $100,000 Victory Ride, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

Slated as Race 9 at 5:47 p.m. Eastern on Saturday's 11-race card, which offers a first post of 1:15 p.m., the Runhappy Met Mile will feature live on NBC from 5 – 6 p.m. Eastern.

An exciting renewal of the Runhappy Met Mile features a showdown between Code of Honor, a $2.4-million earner and winner of last year's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers at Saratoga and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup; and four-time Grade 1-winner McKinzie, who captured last year's Grade 1 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga and boasts lifetime earnings of over $3.4 million.

Following a winter freshening after a distant seventh in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November, the W.S. Farish homebred continued to build on his graded stakes winning form in his 2020 bow when scoring a third overall victory over Big Sandy in the Grade 3 Westchester on June 6.

McGaughey said Code of Honor has matured physically and mentally as a 4-year-old.

“He just grew up physically in his body and his mind,” said McGaughey. “He's gotten more aggressive and he's caught onto what it's all about now. He was still figuring things out last year, especially earlier in the year. Everything he's done this year has been good.

“He acts like he's ready to run,” continued McGaughey, who teamed up with Farish to win the Met Mile with eventual Champion Older Horse Honor Code in 2015. “He's had plenty of time off over the winter and it seems to have done him some good, so we'll just see what he does.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, the winningest jockey in Met Mile history, seeks a sixth triumph, guiding Code of Honor from post 5.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will be seeking redemption in the Met Mile when he sends four-time Grade 1 winner McKinzie to Big Sandy.

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, the 5-year-old son of Street Sense was a troubled second beaten three-quarters of a length to Mitole in last year's running, where he lacked racing room down the stretch, found a hole to the inside of runners and made a late move to complete the exacta.

A Met Mile triumph would make McKinzie the first North American-based male to win a Grade 1 race at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5. As a 2-year-old, McKinzie won the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity before winning the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and Grade 1 Malibu as a sophomore. Following last year's Met Mile, McKinzie took the Grade 1 Whitney Invitational at Saratoga, where he defeated multiple Grade 1-winner Yoshida and eventual Champion Older Horse Vino Rosso while registering a career-best 111 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I think any time you win a Grade 1 on the east coast it's pretty important, especially at Belmont and Saratoga. It's like hitting a home run in Yankee Stadium, it means something,” Baffert said.

Bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Farm, McKinzie arrives at the Met Mile off a victory at his home base in the Grade 2 Triple Bend on June 7 at Santa Anita and has been training forwardly for Baffert at his southern California base. His most recent two works were a five-furlong drill in 59.60 seconds on June 22 and a six-furlong move in 1:12.20 on June 28.

“His comeback race was just perfect,” Baffert said of the Triple Bend. “We just need to draw well and find some racing luck and good weather. If he brings his A game that's what we're looking for. He's doing really well. He breezed well, we're happy with it.”

McKinzie holds sentimental value to his connections having been named after the late racetrack executive and close friend Brad McKinzie, who attended college with Baffert at the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program.

“It's exciting having such a good horse named after our dear friend Brad McKinzie and his mother is still alive and so it keeps her going,” Baffert said. “She loves watching him run and it brings a tear to her eye when he runs. There's a little added pressure when he runs. When you have a nice horse like this it's so enjoying. Like his namesake, the horse has a great personality and when he performs, we're always thinking of Brad.”

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who piloted Baffert's Mor Spirit (2017) and Holy Bull (1994) to Runhappy Met Mile triumphs, will return to the irons from post 3.
Fresh off the best performance of his career in the Grade 1 Runhappy Carter is Vekoma, who registered a 110 Beyer for the 7 1/4-length victory in the seven-furlong event at Big Sandy.

The Runhappy Carter marked the first Grade 1 victory for the George Weaver-trained Candy Ride chestnut colt, following a successful seasonal bow in the Sir Shackleton at Gulfstream Park. Also a graded stakes winner at ages 2 and 3, Vekoma won the 2018 Grade 3 Nashua at Aqueduct following a win on debut and took the 2019 Grade 2 Blue Grass last April at Keeneland en route to a 12th-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

Owned by R. A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stable, Vekoma was bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stable and is out of the Speightstown broodmare Mona de Momma, who also was a Grade 1-winner going seven furlongs.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano piloted subsequent champions Ghostzapper (2004) and Honor Code (2015) to Met Mile triumphs and seeks his third victory in the race aboard Vekoma from post 2.

Bakster Farm's Mr Freeze has come close to Grade 1 success in the past but will try to secure his first victory at such caliber for trainer Dale Romans, who trained 2012 Met Mile champ Shackleford.

The 5-year-old chestnut son of To Honor and Serve, bred in Kentucky by Siena Farms, finished third in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap in November at Churchill Downs and third in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park.

Mr Freeze notched two of his three graded stakes wins going the one-turn mile when taking the Grade 3 Ack Ack on September 28 at Churchill Downs and the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile two starts back on February 29.

Jockey Manny Franco will guide Mr Freeze from post 7.

No stranger to Grade 1 success at Belmont Park, Hog Creek Hustle will attempt to find the winner's circle for the first time since an 18-1 triumph in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens last June over Big Sandy.

Trained by Vickie Foley, the Something Special Racing-owned 4-year-old son of Overanalyze has maintained a consistent record since then having placed in four of his seven starts since striking Grade 1 gold.

Hog Creek Hustle will leave from post 4 under jockey Jose Ortiz.

Trainer Brad Cox will attempt to win his first Met Mile when he saddles the frontrunning Warrior's Charge, who arrives off a second-place finish to By My Standards in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on May 2.

Owned by Ten Strike Racing in partnership with Sol Kumin and Jason Monteleone's Madaket Stables, Warrior's Charge led at every point of call in his only graded stakes victory two starts back in the Grade 3 Razorback on February 17 at Oaklawn Park.

In nine career starts, the dark bay son of Munnings has only finished off the board once when running a game fourth to War of Will in last year's Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, which came after a maiden special weight and optional claiming victories at Oaklawn Park by open lengths.

Leaving from post 8, Warrior's Charge will receive the riding services of jockey Florent Geroux.

No horse since 1983 winner Star Choice has won the Met Mile without having already won a graded stakes race, but Network Effect will step up to the task for four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown.

The three-time graded stakes placed son of Mark Valeski was a distant second to Vekoma in the Grade 2 Carter last out. Owned by Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, Network Effect has only been worse than second once in eight starts, which was a distant eighth in last year's Grade 1 Cigar Mile. Second in the Grade 3 Nashua and Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct as a juvenile, Network Effect defeated winners in November going the one-turn mile at the Big A three starts before becoming a stakes winner against fellow Florida-breds in the Big Drama at Gulfstream Park.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be aboard Network Effect from the inside post.

Godolphin homebred Endorsed, a 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro colt trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, earned a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure last out in a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Westchester. Out of 2012 Grade 1 Gazelle winner Dance Card, Endorsed boasts a record of four wins and two seconds from nine starts. He will be searching for his first career stakes win when leaving post 6 under Joel Rosario.

The Runhappy Met Mile has developed the reputation of being an important breeding-value enhancer potential stallion prospects. Many recent winners of the event have gone on to become Grade 1 and/or champion-producing sires such as Honor Code (2015), Palace Malice (2014), Shackleford (2012), Quality Road (2010), Divine Park (2008) and Ghostzapper (2005).

During its earlier years, the Runhappy Met Mile was championed by all-time greats such as Equipoise (1932-33), Gallorette (1946), Stymie (1947-48), Tom Fool (1953), Native Dancer (1954), Kelso (1961), Carry Back (1962), Buckpasser (1967) and Forego (1976-77).

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