Bottas has found his niche as a late-running miler on the turf.
For the third straight race, the Vekoma colt won a stakes contest under such conditions, with his latest triumph coming Oct. 24 in the $398,750 Bryan Station Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland. Saturday's triumph followed earlier stakes victories in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course, and the $1,748,056 Gun Runner Stakes at Kentucky Downs.
The Bryan Station win was his most authoritative to date, a stalk-and-pounce, 2 1/4-length victory over pacesetting Conducted.
More than the race's outcome was decided in the Bryan Station. Tyler Gaffalione's winning ride gave him 22 winners during the fall meet, enough for a one-win lead over Luis Saez in the race for leading jockey, and Saez could not make up the difference in the 10th and final race. Saez rode Crupper to a fourth-place finish.
Bottas, owned by Abdulhadi Mana Al Hajri's Dahman stable, improved to 5-0-1 in eight starts for trainer Miguel Clement. His earnings now stand at $1,681,563.
Bottas, who raced in fifth early before advancing on the second turn and going after the leader in the stretch, ran a mile on good turf in 1:35.13, capped by a final eighth of a mile in :12.01. He paid $7.50 to win.
Conducted, who set splits of :23.08, :47.21, and 1:11.41 under Saez, couldn't stay with him late but held second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of late-running favorite Remember Mamba in third.
Gaffalione credited Clement and his team for having the colt ready to fire, noting that Bottas traveled sweetly before finding room for his bid down the lane.
"He broke alertly, put himself in the right spot and traveled like a winner throughout," Gaffalione said of his mount. "He just had to wait and find the room, and when he did, he really exploded."
The winner, bred by BCS Thoroughbreds in Kentucky out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Iadorakid, was purchased for $300,000 by Case Clay Thoroughbred Management from the Paul Sharp consignment at the 2025 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
Clay, representing Dahman, indicated in a postrace in-house television interview that a trip to Del Mar could be next before the colt is freshened for a 4-year-old campaign. Del Mar stages the $300,000 Hollywood Derby (G1T) Nov. 28. That race is 1 1/8 miles on turf.
"Miguel and his team have done an outstanding job with him," Clay said.
Vekoma, the leading third-crop sire in North America, will stand for $100,000 next year at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.
