Nakoma Update

Nakoma had her next follow-up scan this morning, and everything continues to trend in the right direction. She’s been given the green light to pick up the pace a bit more, but on Jena’s recommendation she’ll do that at Jena’s home base at GoldMark Farm in Ocala. The barn will be dispersing from Keeneland in the coming weeks, with some horses heading up to New York and some going to Gulfstream Park, and either way Nakoma was going to go to Florida next.

With Nakoma not being super close to a race yet, Jena feels GoldMark is a better place to continue her forward progression. The sand-based track there is very forgiving, and there also tends to be a bit less rain in Central Florida vs. South Florida. Jena was quick to point out that this is not a step backwards for Nakoma, and that heading to the farm is just the best way to keep ramping up the intensity of her training and getting her closer to race fit. Once she’s got some speed work under her belt, she’ll head to Gulfstream to finish off her preparations for a debut.

Having her own farm operation that horses can seamlessly transition to is a big asset for Jena and was a key factor in the development of her champion trainee Arcangelo, so we think it’s definitely the right move. Nakoma will ship south as soon as a van becomes available.

Since our update the other day, Vekoma got another stakes win at Delaware with a colt who is now three-for-three, and had two more MSW winners at Keeneland.

We’ll report back with more soon once Nakoma makes it down to Florida. Check out the accompanying clips of some of Nakoma’s owners meeting the filly and Jena at Keeneland this morning.