LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mansa Musa missed the break in his North American debut April 7 at Keeneland. Maybe he should do it again Wednesday – and maybe he will. “I haven’t done anything different with him. I don’t know what I can do,” trainer Bill Mott said Sunday morning on the Churchill Downs backstretch. Mott might not need to do more than put a saddle on Mansa Musa in the $300,000 William Walker Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong turf dash restricted to 3-year-olds. Several of the pace players that dueled in Keeneland’s Palisades Stakes, which Mansa Musa nearly won, return in the William Walker, which drew an overflow field of 15, a dozen in the main body. Absent from the entries is the Palisades winner, Fandom, who could have a race at Royal Ascot on his agenda. Mansa Musa proved an upper-echelon 2-year-old sprinter last year in Ireland, to the extent that Team Valor International and Gary Barber bought the horse privately. Slated to run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Mansa Musa caught a relatively minor injury that quashed that plan. Mansa Musa did emigrate to America, going to Mott at Payson Park in Florida, where he worked solidly, if not spectacularly over dirt. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Given his level of accomplishment overseas, his price in the Palisades Stakes at Keeneland, 15-1, was pretty spectacular, but a brutal beat to those who jumped on it. Coming up the rail under Junior Alvarado, Mansa Musa looked like a winner at the furlong grounds, but the Wesley Ward-trained Fandom, closing outside, finished slightly better. Mansa Musa was beaten a neck. Afterward, Mott and Barry Irwin of Team Valor rued the start of the Palisades, where Mansa Musa hesitated a beat, breaking 11th of 12. That placed him sixth during the middle stages of the 5 1/2-furlong Palisades, where a fast pace fried the front-runners. Perhaps breaking a length quicker would have landed Mansa Musa in the winner’s circle, but he did, in the end, get a good rail run into a taxing tempo. Mott said Mansa Musa has held form during his relatively short break between starts. What’s not holding is his price: Mansa Musa is listed at 4-1 on the track’s morning line and could be shorter. No Nay Mets, fourth in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint, was favored at 17-10 while making his 3-year-old debut in the Palisades. No Nay Mets won a speed duel with Silent Heart, who finished sixth and is back in the Walker, but wound up fourth, beaten 1 1/4 lengths. His trainer, George Weaver, hesitated when asked if No Nay Mets might alter tactics to avoid another pace war. “He was off the pace in the Breeders’ Cup and ran a solid race,” Weaver said. “Maybe there was a little more give in the ground at Keeneland than he prefers. It’s up to him and Irad.” Irad Ortiz Jr. rides No Nay Mets for the third time. Refuel, trained by Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable, is the mount of Luis Saez. Refuel acquitted himself admirably in the Palisades, racing from just off the pace, taking his first loss in three starts but finishing third in his stakes and turf debut. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Pletcher said before the Palisades that Refuel simply was a fast sprinter. His position remains unaltered going into the Walker. “That’s just who he is,” Pletcher said Sunday. Horses who last raced at Gulfstream Park, Turfway Park, and Fair Grounds fill out the field. The Walker winner likely comes from the Palisades. Maybe Mansa Musa breaks poorly again. Maybe that doesn’t matter. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.