Bottas the latest graded stakes winner for Vekoma

Vekoma’s 2-year-old colt Bottas would not be denied in the Pilgrim S. (G2) Oct. 3 at Aqueduct, squeezing his way between horses in upper stretch then gamely holding off Heeere’s Johnny to win the 1 1/16-mile turf race by a head.

The victory assured Bottas a spot in the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Del Mar.

Bottas is the seventh graded stakes winner of the year for Vekoma, who leads the Second-Crop sire list with just under $10 million in progeny earnings in 2025.

Bottas got a relatively clean trip for the first six furlongs on Friday’s race. He sat behind horses in fifth as Truman’s Commander set a soft pace of 1:13.10. Moved off the fence by jockey Manny Franco as he turned for home, Bottas found himself in very tight quarters between Heeere’s Johnny and Capital Partner with a furlong to run. He managed to forge through, then would not let the runner-up pass him in the final sixteenth.

“Hopefully this will give him more experience because it’s only going to be his third start when he runs in the Breeders’ Cup,” winning trainer Miguel Clement said. “He’s a top-class horse and he overcomes adversity.”

Now two-for-two lifetime, Bottas has earned $165,000 for the owner simply listed as Dahman. Bottas was bred in Kentucky by BCS Thoroughbreds.