ARCADIA, Calif. – The trainer George Weaver didn’t set out to corner the market on 2-year-old turf sprinters during 2023. It just worked out that way. Weaver-trained 2-year-olds in turf sprints so far this year have compiled a record of 23-11-3-2. That’s not a misprint. Seven different horses have won, and four of them account for seven stakes victories. And so it is that Weaver, a former Todd Pletcher assistant who went out on his own in 2002 and to date has run five horses in Breeders’ Cup races, now has three horses for the same race, the Juvenile Turf Sprint. “I don’t know how it happened. You get all the 2-year-olds in and figure out who’s best at what. It happens we have three that are best at turf sprinting and good enough to get to the Breeders’ Cup,” Weaver said. The trio is not just a run-of-the-mill set of horses who scraped into the race: Crimson Advocate could be favored under John Velazquez, and she and No Nay Mets, the mount of Irad Ortiz Jr., are the leading North American hopes in the five-furlong contest. Amidst Waves, Flavien Prat to ride, won the Bolton Landing at Saratoga and missed by a nose in the Indian Summer at Churchill Downs, and her late-running style complements the early speed of Crimson Advocate and No Nay Mets. :: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages on sale now! Get everything you need to win and save up to 32% off the retail price.  No Nay Mets easily won the Royal Palm Juvenile, a turf sprint at Gulfstream Park, making his career debut May 13. The winner of that race and the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies on the same card were awarded entry into races at Royal Ascot, but things did not go No Nay Mets’s way there in the Norfolk Stakes, where he checked in ninth. Just five weeks later, No Nay Mets swung back into action, capturing the Tyro at Monmouth Park by five lengths, and Sept. 9 at Colonial Downs he won the Rosie’s Stakes by more than three lengths. The filly Crimson Advocate debuted on dirt at the Keeneland meet in April, finishing third in a fast race won by Breeders’ Cup runner Brightwork. Crimson Advocate gave Weaver a sweep of the Gulfstream turf sprints with a fast front-running win in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, then became the rare American horse to win abroad when she beat 25 rivals in the Group 2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot. Crimson Advocate has not raced since the June 21 Queen Mary. “She’s an April foal and she had a busy early schedule,” said Weaver. “It wasn’t anything wrong with her soundness-wise. We felt like she needed a little bit of a breather, so we sent her to the farm. I didn’t know if she would be ready for a prep race or not, but I knew I didn’t want to run big three or four weeks out and then bounce in the Breeders’ Cup. Once she came in and started breezing, I decided to bring her in fresh.” Weaver isn’t sure which turf sprinter is better right now, filly or colt. Earlier in the year, the answer probably was Crimson Advocate. At Gulfstream, she ran five furlongs in 56.25, No Nay Mets in 57.09, a wide gap in a five-furlong race. The pair worked together once before shipping to England. “Crimson Advocate was a little better that day, but No Nay Mets has come on since then,” Weaver said. “They’re both speed horses and I hate to run them against each other, but if it’s not me pressing myself, someone else would be.” Weaver’s stable has hit $3.9 million in earnings during 2023, already a career best. A good chunk of that has come from his army of juvenile turf sprinters. Weaver has had one third-place finish at the Breeders’ Cup, but this year has been special, and he has three chances now to get his first Breeders’ Cup win. “There’s strength in numbers but you still got to get lucky,” he said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.