Nay Lady Nay, Dr Post Aim for Stakes Wins at Monmouth

One year after passing three horses in the final furlong to win the WinStar Matchmaker Stakes (G3T), Nay Lady Nay  will defend her title in that 1 1/8-mile turf test, while grade 3 winner Dr Post  will try to add to his strong start this season in the Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3).

Both races are undercard events July 17 at Monmouth Park, a card topped by the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1).

In the $150,000 Matchmaker, which also awards $50,000 in stallion seasons to WinStar stallions Audible  , Global Campaign   (last year's Monmouth Cup winner), and Tom's d'Etat   to the top three finishers, First Row Partners and Hidden Brook's Nay Lady Nay will try to get untracked. This year the daughter of No Nay Never  has started her 5-year-old campaign with a pair of unplaced finishes in grade 3 stakes, most recently sixth in the Eatontown Stakes June 20 on the Monmouth turf.

Scheduled to ride Nay Lady Nay Saturday is Paco Lopez, who guided her to victory in last year's Matchmaker but has not been aboard in five races since that start.

Nay Lady Nay is one of four fillies and mares entered by trainer Chad Brown, who also sends out Kalifornia Queen  for Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and First Row Partners as well as Great Island  for Alpha Delta Stables, and Counterparty Risk  for owner Klaravich Stables. Kalifornia Queen won a group 2 race in Germany last year and enters off a clear victory in an allowance level race June 13 on the inner turf at Belmont Park while stakes winner Great Island enters off a third in the Gallorette Stakes (G3T) May 15 at Pimlico Race Course, and grade 3 winner Counterparty Risk enters off a third-place finish in the Eatontown Stakes (G3T) June 20 at Monmouth.

Also entered are graded stakes winners Always Shopping , owned by Repole Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher, and Juliet Foxtrot , winner of the Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) this spring for owner Juddmonte and trainer Brad Cox. 

In the Monmouth Cup, St. Elias Stable's Dr Post will try to add to a season in which the son of Quality Road   opened the year by earning his first graded stakes win in the Westchester Stakes (G3) May 1 at Belmont. He had some trouble at the start of the Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) before finishing fifth but since then has worked well on the Belmont training track for trainer Pletcher, earning the bullet there July 4 after breezing five furlongs in 1:00.80

The Monmouth Cup field also features Ny Traffic , who finished second in last year's memorable Haskell, just a neck behind eventual Horse of the Year Authentic  . Campaigned by John Fanelli, Cash is King, Paul Braverman, LC Racing, and Team Hanley, Ny Traffic enters off a runner-up finish in the Salvator Mile Stakes (G3) June 12 at Monmouth.

Entries: WinStar Matchmaker S. (G3T)

Monmouth Park, Saturday, July 17, 2021, Race 5

• Grade IIIT
• 1 1/8m
• Turf
• $150,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 1:52 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Always Shopping (KY)	Florent Geroux	124	Todd A. Pletcher	3/1
2	2Great Island (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Chad C. Brown	6/1
3	3Counterparty Risk (IRE)	Nik Juarez	124	Chad C. Brown	6/1
4	4No Mercy Percy (FL)	Tomas B. Mejia	118	Rafael Schistl	30/1
5	5Juliet Foxtrot (GB)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Brad H. Cox	8/5
6	6Nay Lady Nay (IRE)	Paco Lopez	118	Chad C. Brown	4/1
7	7Kalifornia Queen (GER)	Flavien Prat	120	Chad C. Brown	5/1

Entries: Monmouth Cup S. (G3)

Monmouth Park, Saturday, July 17, 2021, Race 8

• Grade III
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 3:29 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Bal Harbour (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	Gregory D. Sacco	10/1
2	2Justinthenickotime (KY)	Jomar Torres	118	J. Kent Sweezey	30/1
3	3Night Ops (KY)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	3/1
4	4Ny Traffic (NY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	7/5
5	5Dr Post (KY)	Joel Rosario	124	Todd A. Pletcher	5/2
6	6American Dubai (VA)	David Cohen	120	Robertino Diodoro	15/1
7	7Bankit (NY)	Paco Lopez	122	Steven M. Asmussen	4/1