By Mike Kane
'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma), the 6-1 fourth choice on the morning line for Saturday's $500,000 GI Woody Stephens at Saratoga, will be withdrawn from the race, according to his trainer, George Weaver.
“Since his last breeze, he hasn't been moving on the track to our satisfaction,” said Weaver. “He's been jogging and galloping but just not moving 100%. He's not hitting the ground the way we would like. We don't have time to get really concrete diagnosis done [before the race]. We're going to get it done, but we don't feel he should run this weekend.”
Weaver was asked if he was disappointed in the turn of events.
“He is one of the most talented horses I have ever had,” said Weaver, who also trained the colt's sire, dual Grade I winner Vekoma. “We have been looking forward to this race for a long time. It's a disappointment, but I have been doing this long enough that I have been disappointed before and I can take it. He's one of the best horses I have ever trained. He reminds me a lot of his sire, Vekoma.”
Owned by Harrell Ventures LLC and Starlight Racing, the three-year-old Colloquial has won both of his 2025 starts, an Aqueduct maiden special weight on Feb. 7, and a wire-to-wire score in Keeneland's Lafayette Stakes on Apr. 7. The margin of victory in his maiden race was seven lengths, and he earned a 106 Beyer Speed figure, the third-fastest 3-year-old Beyer this year. He was given a Ragozin figure of 3 3/4, currently the fastest of any 3-year-old in North America.
He was second in his debut on June 15, 2024 at Aqueduct, to Mentee (City of Light), the full-brother to Fierceness, before an eight-month absence from the races.
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