Nay Lady Nay looks best of Brown trio in Eatontown

Trainer Chad Brown has three chances in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Eatontown Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the Monmouth Park turf. Each is making her third start of 2020, led by Nay Lady Nay, who is going for her second graded stakes victory at Monmouth this summer.

Nay Lady Nay and her stablemate Tapit Today were first and fourth in the Grade 3 Matchmaker Stakes on July 18 on the Monmouth turf. Nay Lady Nay saved ground under Paco Lopez while stalking the pace in third before rallying between horses for a half-length win. The victory erased the taste of the filly’s lackluster 2020 debut in the Grade 3 Mint Julep in May at Churchill Downs, when she finished eighth on a course she won the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere on in her prior start, six months earlier.

“She just didn’t fire,” Brown said. “Drew a line through it, she came back and ran nicely in her last race, and she’s back in form. She’s training perfect. We may run here and try to stretch her out after that.”

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Nay Lady Nay has won both her starts on the Monmouth turf, and is a perfect 3 for 3 with Lopez in the irons.

Tapit Today stalked Valedictorian’s pace in second in the 1 1/8-mile Matchmaker and briefly made the lead before being outkicked late. Not only is she cutting back slightly in distance, she may have needed the race. Tapit Today was third in the Grade 3 Suwannee River Stakes in February at Gulfstream in her only other start of 2020.

“I think she’s really going to improve second start since the break and she’ll really appreciate the cutback,” Brown said. “The disruption in schedules really got her.”

Rounding out the trio is Noor Sahara, making her third start since coming to Brown’s barn from France. Noor Sahara was third by a head in a Belmont allowance/optional claimer in June off a nine-month layoff. She was then second, beaten a neck, in the De La Rose on July 17 at Saratoga.

“She ran really well last time, it was a good step forward for her,” Brown said. “The owners are keen to try and get something graded. I think she trains like she’s good enough to run at this level.”

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Defending Eatontown winner Valedictorian, trained by Kelly Breen, faded to sixth in the Matchmaker after setting the pace.

Valiance also has form on the Monmouth turf, having won the Open Mind Stakes here last year for Todd Pletcher. She is coming off an allowance/optional win on July 28 at Colonial.

– additional reporting by David Grening