Vekoma to move forward off 'resolute' Fountain of Youth effort

Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) third-place finisher Vekoma will move forward on the Kentucky Derby 2019 trail, trainer George Weaver said, though the colt's next-race plans are undecided.

Saturday’s prep at Gulfstream Park marked Vekoma’s third career start and his first attempt around two turns, with the Fountain of Youth run at 1 1/16 miles. Vekoma was last seen winning the one-mile Nashua Stakes (G3) Nov. 4 at Aqueduct.

“We still don’t have concrete answers on how he’s going to handle more distance,” said Weaver, who also ran his horse first-time Lasix. “…For a four-month layoff and it being the first time he went around two turns, we thought it was pretty good. He stayed honest and kept trying to the end and I didn’t feel like he was losing ground late in the race.

"He kept coming and secured his third-place finish. He was resolute all the way to the end of the race.”

Vekoma settled in fourth under jockey Manny Franco as Hidden Scroll set fractions of 22.80 and 45.69 through the first half-mile. The Candy Ride colt turned three wide and overcame drifting at the head of the stretch to stick his neck in front of Hidden Scroll and hit the board. Vekoma was beaten 2 ¾ lengths by Code of Honor, who held off Bourbon War by three-quarters of a length. 

The Equibase chart footnotes say Vekoma “appeared all out but continued to try and lasted for share.” Weaver agreed with the sentiment.

“That’s the kind of quality that really good horses have,” he said. “They’ve got to have some talent to go with it, but his desire to try hard and give it his all is one of his nice attributes.”

Vekoma could return to Gulfstream Park for the March 30 Florida Derby (G1), wait until April 6 for Aqueduct’s Wood Memorial (G2) or Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes (G2), or run in the April 13 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park. The Arkansas Derby is the last major prep race before the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

All four options offer Derby points on a 100-40-20-10 scale and are run at 1 1/8 miles.

“It’s just a question of whether I want an extra week to the Derby after his final prep or if I’d rather have that extra week going into his next prep,” Weaver said, “so I’m going to get an idea of that once we get him back to the track.”

Weaver also said they will see how the fields are shaping up before making the final decision.

“It seems to me that either March 30 or April 6 are probably the ideal spots,” he added. “Arkansas is a possibility, but then that’s a race three weeks before the Derby, so maybe that might not be ideal.”

Vekoma, campaigned by R. A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, currently has 10 points on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard from his Fountain of Youth finish.