George Weaver didn't get the result he was looking for when he shipped No Nay Mets overseas to race at Ascot last month but the veteran trainer hasn't lost any confidence in the freshman turf sprinter.
To that end, he will send out the son of No Nay Never – possibly along with Please Advise – in Sunday's $100,000 Tyro Stakes for 2-year-olds at five furlongs on the grass at Monmouth Park.
No Nay Mets, bred in Ireland by Coolmore and co-owned by Houston Astros' third baseman Alex Bregman, won his career debut by 3½ lengths in the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream Park before Weaver decided to test the son of No Nay Never during the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in England on June 22. No Nay Mets finished ninth in a field of 14, beaten 7¼ lengths.
A full field of 14, along with two also eligible possibilities, has entered the 82nd running of the Tyro Stakes.
“He's precocious,” said Weaver. “We won a stakes with him first time out and went to Ascot. Things didn't go the way we wanted but there was a little give in the ground and he wasn't on the best part of the turf.
“He wasn't beat a lot so it wasn't a complete embarrassment. He has bounced back well in training and this is the next logical step.”
Weaver said that No Nay Mets, who has been working at Saratoga in advance of his return to the races, is in for turf only.
Paco Lopez, Monmouth Park's leading rider, has the mount.
Weaver has yet to name a rider for Please Advise, who was a first-out winner at five furlongs on the turf at Belmont Park on June 22, in large part because he is uncertain about whether the son of Palace Malice will make the starting gate on Sunday.
“I'm not 100 percent sure of what I'm doing with him,” said Weaver. “I want to see how things shake out. He broke his maiden pretty easily so we've got to make a decision. We'll do that Saturday.”
Seven of the 14 horses entered in the main body of the Tyro are 1-for-1 lifetime. A total of eight will be trying turf for the first time, which is something Weaver does not have to worry about with either of his colts.
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