No Nay Hudson gets up in final strides of William Walker Stakes
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE?q=100)
No Nay Hudson kicked clear of a stubborn Two of a Kind in the final yards for a 1 1/2-length win in the $225,000 William Walker Stakes for 3-year-old turf sprinters on Saturday evening at Churchill Downs.
It was a breakthrough first career stakes victory for No Nay Hudson ($23.54), who had long been knocking at the door for trainer Wesley Ward and owners Andrew Farm and For the People Racing Stable. After finishing fourth in the Tremont Stakes on dirt in June 2022, the Irish-born son of the Scat Daddy horse No Nay Never finished second in the Skidmore Stakes at Saratoga, third in the Indian Summer Stakes at Keeneland, and second in the Atlantic Beach Stakes at Aqueduct.
The colt opened 2023 with a sixth-place finish in the Palisades Stakes on April 16 at Keeneland, but was beaten just more than a pair of necks for third in a tight pack.
No Nay Hudson and jockey James Graham were seventh of eight after the opening quarter of the Walker, and were still sixth at the five-sixteenths pole, with more than 3 1/2 lengths to make up on pressured leader Two of a Kind. That colt, with Crispy Cat hounding throughout, had rattled off an opening quarter in 21.78 seconds and the half in 44.56 seconds on firm turf.
Graham put his colt in the clear for the stretch run, and he came with a powerful rally, getting the better of a game Two of a Kind in the final stages and widening to the line. He finished the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.30.
“Wesley called me earlier and just said to let this horse break on his own and take you there,” Graham said. “He has a lot of early speed but I didn’t break as well as we thought we would. He got into a good spot early and was able to get the job done."
Two of a Kind held second by a head over favored Gaslight Dancer, who improved his position late after running fairly evenly throughout. Gaslight Dancer and Two of a Kind had been first and second, respectively, in the Palisades last month in the latter's first start on turf.
After the top three, it was just a half-length to Crispy Cat, followed, in order, by private Creed, Ah Jeez, Gilcrease, and Chiringo.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.