Vekoma’s Alpyland razor-sharp in Columbia S.

Alpyland got his fourth win in his last five starts Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs with a convincing win in the $125,000 Columbia S. on the turf.

The victory was the second stakes win for the 3-year-old son of Vekoma, who won the Jan. 1 Dania Beach S. at Gulfstream Park.

Under confident handling by Javier Castellano from the start of the one-mile race, Alpyland sat in midpack while Proton and Knick’s Honor battled through a half-mile of :48.20. He started his run for the lead going into the final turn and took the lead for good with a quarter-mile to race. He spurted clear of the field under a hand ride and was comfortably in front down the stretch, winning by 2 ½-lengths.

Alpyland has now won four of his eight starts and earned $271,596 for owner D. J. Stable LLC. The winner was bred in Kentucky by Denis Villella.

A leading sire of his generation, Vekoma currently tops the Third-Crop sire list with 30 individual winners and seven stakes horses.