Vekoma's Colloquial Wires the Lafayette

LAFAYETTE S., $380,000, Keeneland, 4-7, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.92, ft.
1–COLLOQUIAL, 118, c, 3, by Vekoma
                1st Dam: Terminology, by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Her Own Terms, by Storm Cat
                3rd Dam: Gal in a Ruckus, by Bold Ruckus
($240,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Harrell
Ventures, LLC and Starlight Racing; B-Michael & J.B. Orem (KY);
T-George Weaver; J-Manuel Franco. $248,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-2-1-0, $310,000.
2–Smoken Wicked, 118, c, 3, Bobby's Wicked One–Street
Smoke, by Street Boss. ($38,000 Ylg '23 BSLY&M). O-Valene
Farms LLC; B-Tom Curtis & Wayne Simpson (LA); T-Dallas
Stewart. $60,000.
3–Touchy, 118, c, 3, Nyquist–Touch the Moon, by Malibu
Moon. O/B-Three Chimneys Farm LLC (Goncalo B. Torrealba)
(KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $40,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 2 1/4, 6HF. Odds: 0.35, 4.47, 10.02.
Also Ran: Rolando, Itsmybirthday. Scratched: Gate to Wire, Gunmetal, One True Shance.
'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial followed up his brilliant maiden score at Aqueduct in February with a wire-to-wire victory in the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland Monday. The 1-4 favorite was pressed by Smoken Wicked through a quarter in :22.62 and a half in :44.96 and began inching away from that pesky foe in upper stretch en route to a 2 1/4-length victory.
“My horse was the best horse in the race,” said winning jockey Manny Franco. “He broke so good. I didn't take anything away from him. I just let him roll out of there and see what the guys outside me wanted to do. Nobody cleared me, so I held my position and after that he took me all the way to the wire.”
Trainer George Weaver trained Vekoma and was gratified to come back to Keeneland with a stakes winner by that 2019 GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner.
“We're always eternally grateful to Vekoma and what he did for us and our barn,” Weaver said. “To see him carry on as a stallion and come up with all these runners–it's a lot of fun. I'd say [Colloquial] is really good. It's his first time against winners today, and there were some nice horses in here. It was a change of tactics. I didn't really anticipate being on the lead, but I trust Manny to make decisions that he needs to based on how things are unfolding. He put him on the lead and the horse ran great.”
Colloquial, a nose runner-up on debut at Aqueduct last June, resurfaced at the Big A Feb. 7 with a towering maiden score which earned him a 106 Beyer figure.
Looking ahead for the talented colt, Weaver said, “I would like to run in the GI Woody Stephens [at Saratoga]. I need to talk to the ownership. Obviously, I want to do what we all think is best for the horse together. I'd like to make the Woody Stephens from here; it makes sense to me. After that, I'm game to stretch him out.”
Terminology has a 2-year-old filly by Bolt d'Oro who sold for $275,000 to Glen Hill Farm at last year's Keeneland September sale, and a yearling colt by Girvin. She was bred to Taiba last year. The winner's third dam is GI Kentucky Oaks winner Gal in a Ruckus. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

Put yourself in @jockeyfranco's irons as he rides COLLOQUIAL to victory in the $400,000 Lafayette Stakes at @KeenelandRacing. @JockeyCam pic.twitter.com/5UQQmbUCaT

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) April 7, 2025