Jockey Manny Franco had a banner day at Keeneland April 7, earning back-to-back stakes victories in the rescheduled $400,000 Lafayette Stakes and the $600,000 Transylvania Stakes (G3T). He's coming off a great weekend with wins in the Carter Stakes (G2) and Haynesfield Stakes at Aqueduct Race Track.
Riding for Graham Motion, Franco stalked the pacesetters with Test Score in the Transylvania before rallying five-wide in the upper stretch and making his bid at the eighth pole to win by 1 1/4 lengths. The Richard Baltas trainee Scipio, who was bumped at the start, rallied for second, with Maui Strong holding on for third place.
"I think (that he relaxed in the early stages) was the key," said Franco. He (Test Score) broke so good and put me right into the race. He was traveling really well in the beginning of the race. He handled the ground really well, too. I was happy where I was, and when he was feeling the horses coming, he just gave me another gear. He was competitive in the race and got it done. When the 1 (Chasing Liberty) came inside of me at the quarter pole, (Test Score) said, 'OK, we are running,' and he gave me another gear."
The colt rated through fractions of :23.01, :47.25, 1:12.44, and 1:37.53, before kicking clear to finish in 1:43.84 for the 1 1/16-mile race over the turf course listed as good. He paid $21.48 to win.
A homebred for Amerman Racing, the son of Lookin at Lucky was stakes-placed twice since breaking his maiden at Keeneland during last year's Fall Meet. He now has two wins from six starts, with earnings of $477,725.
"I think I'm riding the right horses for the right trainers," said Franco on his recent success. "When you ride for those kinds of people, you get confidence and everything goes well. I think that's what's happening right now."
Colloquial Lives Up To Hype in Lafayette Stakes
Colloquial, the stunning chestnut son of Vekoma , proved why he was the heavy favorite with an eye-catching win in the Lafayette Stakes April 7 for owners Harrell Ventures and Starlight Racing.
The favorite was pressed the whole way by Smoken Wicked, but never gave in, edging clear to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Smoken Wicked held on for second, with Touchy finishing third.
The colt set fast fractions of :22.62, :44.96, and 1:10.20, before finishing the seven-furlong race in 1:23.92. He paid $2.70 to win.
"(Being on the lead going 7 furlongs and taking pressure) is difficult because you're riding the favorite and you know the pressure is there," said Franco. "But at the same time, I was confident in my horse. My horse was the best horse in the race."
The George Weaver-trained colt was coming off a dominating win in a maiden special weight race at Aqueduct Feb. 7, where he was geared down in the final stages.
George Weaver trained Colloquial's sire Vekoma, who earned $1.2 million, winning graded stakes races from ages 2-4, including the 2019 Bluegrass Stakes (G2). He was crowned the leading freshman sire for 2024.
"We're always eternally grateful to Vekoma and what he did for us and our barn," said Weaver. "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 (jockey) Manny (Franco) to make decisions that he needs to based on how things are unfolding. He put him on the lead, and the horse ran great."
When asked if he would focus on one-turn races this spring, Weaver replied: "No, I would like to run in the Woody Stephens. 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."
The colt now has two wins from three starts and earnings of $310,000. He was bred in Kentucky by J.B. Orem and Michael Orem. Starlight Racing/Harrell Ventures purchased the colt out of the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $240,000 from the Beau Lane Bloodstock consignment.
