Nay Lady Nay Prevails in Grade II, $300,000 Mrs. Revere

Nov 29, 2019 Darren Rogers,Churchill Downs Communications

Nay Lady Nay (IRE) sliced her way between rivals Dalika (GER) and The Mackem Bullet (IRE) in deep stretch to win Saturday’s 29^th running of the $300,000 Mrs. Revere (Grade II) at Churchill Downs by a half-length.

Owned by Steve Laymon’s First Row Partners and James Hall’s Hidden Brook Farm, Nay Lady Nay (IRE) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:48.52 over a Matt Winn Turf Course rated “yielding” – the slowest Mrs. Revere in history – to collect her second stakes win and first against graded company. Junior Alvarado rode the winner for trainer Chad Brown, who also had 2-1 favorite New and Improved in the race but the Sands Point (GII) winner finished seventh.

Nay Lady Nay (IRE), who previously won the $75,700 Parx Fall Oaks, banked the $172,980 first prize and rewarded her backers with $2 mutuels of $16.80, $7.40 and $5.60 as the 7-1 fourth betting choice in the field of 12 3-year-old fillies.

Hard Legacy, winner of the Regret (GIII) in June, carved out fractions of :24.54, :50.25 and 1:16.42 as Nay Lady Nay (IRE) relaxed in mid-pack along the inside hedge down the backstretch. Off the far turn, The Mackem Bullet (IRE) challenged Hard Legacy for the lead with Dalika (GER) soon to take over from the outside with a furlong to run. But Nay Lady Lady (IRE), who was finding her best stride after swinging out to the four-path, split between Dalika (GER) and The Mackem Bullet (IRE) inside the sixteenth pole and edged clear in the final stages.

“Anytime you ride a horse for Chad Brown you know it’ll be ready to roll,” Alvarado said. “She broke very good and had a nice kick at the end. She got over the going very well and had a nice kick at the end to get us home.”

The victory was Brown’s 10^th graded stakes win of the year with a 3-year-old filly on turf (six different fillies). The others were the GIII Herecomesthebride (Cambier Parc); GIII Soaring Softly (Seek and Destroy); GIII Wonder Again (Cambier Parc); GIII Lake George (Regal Glory); GIII Pucker Up (Café Americano); GI Del Mar Oaks (Cambier Parc); GII Lake Placid (Regal Glory); GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (Cambier Parc); and GII Sands Point (New and Improved).

Runner-up Dalika (GER), under Luis Saez, paid $6.40 and $5.20. The Mackem Bullet (IRE), ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, was another 1 ½ lengths back in third and paid $3.60 to show.

Hard Legacy was fourth and was followed by Winning Envelope, She’sonthewarpath, New and Improved, Delta’s Kingdom, Julia’s Ready, Wildlife, Proud Emma and Amandrea. Winter Sunset and Passionof the Nile were scratched.

The winner’s share of the purse pushed Nay Lady Nay (IRE)’s earnings to $265,180 from a record of 3-1-0 in five starts.

Nay Lady Nay (IRE) is a dark bay or brown daughter of No Nay Never out of the English Channel mare Lady Ederle who was bred in Ireland by Stephen Sullivan.

The Mrs. Revere is named in honor of Mrs. Revere, an accomplished Churchill Downs fan favorite in the mid-1980s. Mrs. Revere won 12 races in 28 starts, finished second seven times and earned $429,545 for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Her six wins in a dozen starts at Churchill Downs included stakes triumphs in the Regret, Dogwood and Edgewood in 1984 and the Kentucky Cardinal in 1985. She was owned by Drs. David Richardson and Hiram Polk, who have provided the winner’s trophy for the Mrs. Revere in each year of its existence.