Sadler lands cross-country stakes double
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DEL MAR, Calif. – With a veteran and a rookie, trainer John Sadler had a nationwide stakes double Saturday.
Kings River Knight, an 8-year-old gelding, won his ninth stakes in the California Dreamin’ for statebreds on turf at Del Mar. Earlier in the afternoon, Hey Nay Nay remained unbeaten after two starts with an easy win in the $98,000 Tyro Stakes for 2-year-olds at five furlongs on turf at Monmouth Park.
Hey Nay Nay ($2.60) led throughout to win by seven lengths. The colt, by No Nay Never, was not urged late by jockey Paco Lopez.
“He really looked good,” Sadler reflected Sunday. “It was what you want out of a second start, what you want to see from a young horse.”
Owned by Hronis Racing and Iapetus Racing LLC, Hey Nay Nay won his first start in a maiden race at five furlongs on turf on June 1 at Santa Anita.
Sadler said Hey Nay Nay will be considered for two $500,000 races at Kentucky Downs – the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint at six furlongs on Aug. 31 or the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile on Sept. 7.
Those races have $1 million purses, but Hey Nay Nay is an Irish-bred and eligible for only half of the purse, with the other $500,000 derived from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund for Kentucky-breds.
Another option is the Grade 3 Del Mar Juvenile Turf at a mile on Sept. 7, the final day of the current meeting. A Breeders’ Cup turf race on Oct. 31 is a long-range goal for Hey Nay Nay.
Kings River Knight is likely to start in the $75,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes for California-breds at a mile on Sept. 13 at Los Alamitos. Kings River Knight won the 2023 Johnston.
Kings River Knight, a gelding by Acclamation, has won 13 of 20 starts and earned $855,530. He races for the partnership of Integrity Thoroughbreds, the family of the late Bud Johnston, and Kenneth Tevelde.
In the California Dreamin’ Stakes, Kings River Knight took the lead shortly after the start from post 9 in a field of 10.
“He ran even better than I thought,” Sadler said. “He had to work from a bad post. I think for his standard it was a good race.”
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