Hey Nay Nay © Benoit Photo
Flashing good form throughout, Hronis Racing or Iapetus Racing’s Hey Nay Nay gave further signs of positive things to come when the colt by No Nay Never fired through the lane to come away the winner by a length and a half in the Grade III, $104,000 Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes Sunday, closing day of the Del Mar season.
Rider Hector I. Berrios put his mount in the fray right from the start, then surged to the front turning for home in the one-mile turf test. The dark bay or brown Irish-bred finished up his journey in 1:35.57 and picked up a first prize of $60,000.
It was his third victory in his third start, but his first in a graded affair. Earlier he’d won a straight maiden race at Santa Anita, then shipped east to capture the non-graded Tyro Stakes at Monmouth Park. All of his outings have come on turf.
No Nay Nay, trained by John Sadler, returned $4.00 for $2 as the even-money favorite in the 13-horse field. He now has $156,000 in earnings.
Finishing second was Magnier, Tabor and Smith’s Plutarch, who had a length and a quarter on Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures’ Proletariat.
The Sunday 11-race card was the closer for Del Mar’s 86th summer season. Racing will return to the seaside oval on October 30 for the Bing Crosby Season. The highlight of that meeting will be the 42nd edition of the Breeders’ Cup, which will be conducted on Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1. It will be the fourth time the championship event has visited Del Mar.
HECTOR I. BERRIOS (Hey Nay Nay (IRE) - winner) -- “He is a professional, I like this horse. I tried to go to the lead, but (John) Sadler said if another rider goes first just stay second. He gave me a chance. At the turn I relaxed, and he went. In the stretch I went inside and asked him to move and he responded. It’s a big jump, (going from 5 furlongs to a mile), but when you have a good horse, the distance. Is no problem.”
JOHN SADLER (Hey Nay Nay, winner) – “I told him (jockey Hector Berrios) to get clear because when you’re running 13 two-year-olds on the turf you don’t want to get slaughtered by some 60-1 shot. I said put him in the race and he just laid second and that was good. We haven’t seen the best of him. He’s a real chill horse. He’s takes everything well. The idea was to get a race here so he’s ready for the Breeders’ Cup.”
FRACTIONS: :22.32 :46.61 1:11.41 1:23.69 1:35.57
The stakes win in the Juvenile Turf was the fifth of the meet for rider Berrios, but his first in the Juvenile Turf. He now has 24 stakes wins at Del Mar.
The stakes win in the Juvenile Turf was the fourth at the meet for trainer Sadler, but his third in the Juvenile Turf. He now has 90 stakes wins at Del Mar, second most of all trainers.
The winner is owned by a partnership headed by Hronis Racing of Kosta and Pete Hronis of Delano, CA.