By Alan Carasso
Dahman's Bottas (Vekoma) found himself in tight quarters with push coming to shove in Friday's GII Pilgrim Stakes at Aqueduct, but he sliced through a narrow opening at the eighth pole and refused to let three-start maiden Heeere's Johnny (Oscar Performance) push past in the dying stages, scoring by a head. The 8 1/2-furlong contest serves as a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on Oct. 31.
Named a 'TDN Rising Star', presented by Hagyard off an impressive 2 1/4-length debut score going this same distance up at Saratoga in the Travers Day opener Aug. 23, the $300,000 OBS April breezer gained a forward position beneath Manny Franco and managed to slot in down on the fence from about fifth position behind dueling longshot leaders at the entry to the first turn.
Racing to the inside of Heeere's Johnny from midfield as they hit the half-mile pole, Bottas was beaten to the punch by Heeere's Johnny as the field neared the stretch, but jumped back into the bridle and was full of run five wide into the lane. Fellow 'Rising Star' Capital Partner (GB) (Kingman {GB}), tough to control through the early stages, was forced out into and bumped with the 6-5 Bottas at midstretch and things got a bit messy, but even as it appeared that Heeere's Johnny had momentum enough to go on by, the chalk battled on bravely inside and managed to maintain a narrow margin in the run to the line. Let's Be Frank (Liam's Map), a running-on third in a six-furlong maiden here on Sept. 13, raced at the tail of the field early on, but got home very well for third.
“Hopefully this will give him more experience because it's only going to be his third start when he runs in the Breeders' Cup,” winning trainer Miguel Clement said. “He's a top-class horse and he overcomes adversity.”
Added Franco: “I had a little bit of a seam at the quarter pole because Javier [aboard Heeere's Johnny] was outside me. As soon as my horse got the spot that I wanted, he fought hard. He was fighting hard with the other horse outside. I knew he was going to have more, and he did it.”
Pedigree Notes:
A half-brother to 2024 Affirmed Stakes-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Parenting (Justify), Bottas is the 16th black-type winner and eighth graded winner for his 2024 champion freshman sire. The Feb. 15 foal is the 121st stakes winner and 40th group/graded winner produced by a daughter of the late Lemon Drop Kid.
Bottas is out of a winning half-sister to three others to salute, including Sovereign Award and GI Woodbine Mile winner El Tormenta (Stormy Atlantic) and Zero Tolerance (Mizzen Mast), a Grade III-winning turf sprinter. The deeper female family includes champion Hello Seattle and freshman sire Galilean (Uncle Mo).
Iadorakid did not produce a foal in either of the past two seasons and was most recently covered by Life Is Good.
Friday, Belmont at the Big A
PILGRIM S.-GII, $200,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-3, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:42.63, fm.
1–BOTTAS, 120, c, 2, by Vekoma
1st Dam: Iadorakid, by Lemon Drop Kid
2nd Dam: Torreadora, by El Prado (Ire)
3rd Dam: Fleet of Foot, by Gone West
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($300,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR). 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard. O-Dahman; B-BCS Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Miguel Clement; J-Manuel Franco. $110,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $165,000. *1/2 to Parenting (Justify), SW, $139,200. Werk Nick Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Heeere's Johnny, 118, c, 2, Oscar Performance–Dabinett, by Blame. ($100,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Magic Carpet Racing & Catherine W Coyle; B-John A Chandler (KY); T-Raymond Handal. $40,000.
3–Let's Be Frank, 118, c, 2, Liam's Map–Proudly (Kor), by Alternation. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($75,000 RNA Ylg '24 KEESEP). O/B-Nice Guys Stables (KY); T-Michael J Maker. $24,000.
Margins: HD, 1, 2. Odds: 1.24, 7.60, 7.40.
Also Ran: Scope, Noble Dynasty, Capital Partner (GB), Teleport (Ire), Truman's Commander, Baytown Dreamer, Ball of Fire. Scratched: Repentless. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
BOTTAS is now 2-for-2 after winning the Grade 2 Pilgrim Stakes with @jockeyfranco up for trainer @clementstable, earning a spot in the @BreedersCup Juvenile Turf! pic.twitter.com/pPoP22Ar99
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) October 3, 2025
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