Vekoma draws post 2 in full Blue Grass gate

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Vekoma will break from post 2 as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a full gate of 14 3-year-olds in the Blue Grass Stakes, the traditional Keeneland spring showcase set for its 95th running Saturday.

Third in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream after winning both starts at 2, Vekoma will be ridden by Javier Castellano in the Grade 2, $1 million Blue Grass. The Candy Ride colt had his final pre-race blowout Saturday at his Palm Beach Downs winter base in Florida for trainer George Weaver.

The other program favorites for the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass are Win Win Win (7-2), third as the favorite in the Tampa Bay Derby, and Signalman (8-1), seventh in the Fountain of Youth. All other starters are listed at double-digit odds.

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The Blue Grass is worth 170 qualifying points (100-40-20-10) toward the May 4 Kentucky Derby and is one of three such preps set for Saturday, along with the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the Santa Anita Derby. Post time for the Blue Grass, the 10th of 11 Saturday races, is 6:23 p.m. Eastern, with the race being telecast live by the NBC Sports Network (5:30-7:30) and on TVG.

From the rail and with jockeys, this is the field:

Somelikeithotbrown, Tyler Gaffalione; Vekoma, Castellano; Signalman, Brian Hernandez Jr.; Market King, Jon Court; Chess Chief, Paco Lopez; Dream Maker, Florent Geroux; Admire, Robby Albarado; Win Win Win, Irad Ortiz Jr.; Sir Winston, Julien Leparoux; Lucky Lee, Chris Landeros; So Alive, Luis Saez; Parsimony, Mario Gutierrez; Moonster, John McKee; and Aquadini, Corey Lanerie.

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Three trainers will each start an uncoupled entry: Dale Romans, Dallas Stewart, and Mark Casse. Casse had been expected to also enter Hoffa’s Union, but the colt was diverted instead to the Wood.

The last Kentucky Derby winner to start in the Blue Grass was Street Sense (second in 2007), and the last to sweep both races was Strike the Gold (1991).

The Blue Grass is one of five stakes on a huge Saturday card at Keeneland. Besides the Blue Grass, entries also were drawn at a media breakfast Wednesday for the Grade 1, $500,000 Ashland Stakes, worth 170 qualifying points toward the May 3 Kentucky Oaks.

From the rail, this is the field for the Ashland (race 9, 5:45): Bizwhacks, Chocolate Kisses, Lady Kate, Jaywalk, Feedback, Restless Rider, Bell’s the One, and Out for a Spin.

Jaywalk, the reigning divisional champion, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies, followed by Restless Rider (5-2), Feedback (3-1), and Chocolate Kisses (5-1).

Feedback, unbeaten in two starts, is a possible scratch in favor of the Beaumont Stakes on Sunday, said trainer Chad Brown. The Ashland goes at 1 1/16 miles and the Beaumont at the Beard Course distance of seven furlongs and 184 feet.

The other Saturday stakes are the Grade 1 Madison (race 8, 5:10), the Grade 2 Shakertown (race 7, 4:35), and Grade 3 Commonwealth (race 6, 4:00). The stakes are grouped into a pick-five wager.

The stakes schedule for opening week of the 16-day spring meet ends Sunday with the Grade 2 Appalachian and Grade 3 Beaumont.