By J.N. Campbell
The late Christophe Clement was always suspicious when it came to untested freshmen sires, save one–Vekoma.
In a fitting capstone to an emotional day which honored the late trainer as one of the newest members to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, 3-year-old Vekoma colt Bottas ran on nicely for Miguel Clement's stable to take the Grade II race which is named after the museum on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs.
Earlier on Friday, the Clement Family assembled at Fasig-Tipton's Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion to finally welcome the much-missed “Boss” for enshrinement into Racing's Hall of Fame.
An OBS April pick by Case Clay Thoroughbred Management in 2025, Bottas won his debut by 2 1/4 lengths over the grass at the Spa and earned a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard,' badge for his effort. Sent by Miguel Clement into the GII Pilgrim Stakes at Aqueduct in early October, the dark bay did not disappoint as he rallied to win a photo.
Bottas shipped to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Stakes at the end of October and finished a well-beaten ninth.
Taking a break from the races for over seven months, the Dahman-owned colt was third in the GIII Pennine Ridge Stakes at the Spa June 4 and he was a close-up fifth in the GI Belmont Derby on the same turf upstate exactly a month later.
Tabbed as the 7-2 second choice behind favorite Touch of Fire (Constitution), Bottas assumed a tracking position as Third Coast (Uncle Mo) set the pace. The 3-year-old kept a close watch to the outside of the chalk up the backstretch and worked to hem in Touch of Fire's jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. around the far turn.
With some nifty riding on display by Manny Franco, Bottas was able to get the jump on his rival down the lane and he turned on the jets to sail home a winner for the Clement clan.
Team Bottas in the winner's circle | Sarah Andrew
Franco notched his sixth victory of the day to tie the Saratoga record for wins on a single card, which is held by Johnny Velazquez, Ramon Domínguez and Irad Ortiz Jr.
“Not a bad day,” said trainer Miguel Clement. “I don't know if it was Manny's [Franco] hot streak, Dad [Christophe Clement] up above or someone deciding to help me out, but I thought it was great. Manny rode him brilliantly, keeping Irad [Ortiz, Jr., aboard the favored Touch of Fire] boxed in for a little bit longer and getting first run.
“I'm convinced he does stay a little bit farther,” he said. “If you watch his last race, he was impeded and crowded the whole way and was only beaten a length and a half in the Belmont Derby. Had things been different that day, we may have been more bold to go for the Saratoga Derby, but you can never be blasé about winning a graded stakes at Saratoga.
“The only instructions were to get him covered up and give him a clear run in the stretch,” added Clement. “The rest I left up the Manny. He's in great form; when you're hot, you're very hot. Any day is a good day to leg up Mr. Franco, but especially today.
On winning the Hall of Fame Stakes on the day his father was enshrined, Miguel Clement said, “It was tremendous. I was the one last year who had to break the news that [Christophe] didn't get into the Hall of Fame. Every year we were delighted that he was one of the nominees and always a bit disappointed that we didn't get selected, so it's a very emotional day.
As for jockey Manny Franco, he said, “I wanted to be forward. It was a small field. I just got the horse to beat [Touch of Fire] inside, so that's all I want. I got the horse to beat inside of me, so I want to keep him there, so I take the race from there.”
“I'm in the sky right now,” said the rider about his sixth win on the card. “It is unbelievable, doing it right here in Saratoga, it means more. It means a lot. I'm just happy to get these opportunities.”
Pedigree Notes:
Sire Vekoma (by Candy Ride {Arg}) adds another graded stakes win to his account, which now brings his tally to 16 and includes GI Whitney Stakes entrant Forged Steel.
Bottas is a half-brother to 2024 Affirmed Stakes winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Parenting (Justify). After not producing a foal in her two prior seasons, Iadorakid (Lemon Drop Kid) is responsible for an early May colt by Life Is Good. She visited National Treasure for next term.
Iadorakid is herself a half-sibling to excellent GI Woodbine Mile winner El Tormenta (Stormy Atlantic) and GSW Zero Tolerance (Mizzen Mast).
Diving deeper into Bottas's extended female family we find champion Hello Seattle and second-crop sire Galilean (Uncle Mo).
A Hall of Fame day for the Clement family. ❤️
Hours after Christophe Clement enters the Hall of Fame, BOTTAS wins the G2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes for his son Miguel @clementstable, with @jockeyfranco up. pic.twitter.com/IWZaMaKoIp
— NYRA (🎪) (@TheNYRA) August 7, 2026
Friday, Saratoga
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING HALL OF FAME S.-GII, $400,000, Saratoga, 8-7, 3yo, 1mT, 1:34.67, fm.
1–BOTTAS, 124, c, 3, by Vekoma
1st Dam: Iadorakid, by Lemon Drop Kid
2nd Dam: Torreadora, by El Prado (Ire)
3rd Dam: Fleet of Foot, by Gone West
($300,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR). 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard.' O-Dahman; B-BCS Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Miguel Clement; J-Manuel Franco. $220,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-0-1, $461,000. *1/2 to Parenting (Justify), SW, $139,200. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Blinging It Back, 120, g, 3, Volatile–Ima Three Blinger, by Too Much Bling. ($80,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Barber, Gary and Deutsch, Peter; B-Forever Spring Farm (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $80,000.
3–Touch of Fire, 122, c, 3, Constitution–Mexican Gold, by Medaglia d'Oro. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Juddmonte (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $48,000.
Margins: 1HF, NK, 3/4. Odds: 3.62, 8.20, 1.21.
Also Ran: Print, Third Coast, Arizona Territory, Vasy (Ire). Scratched: Glavine, Immortalised (Fr).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
