Unbeaten colt Stay Hungry heats into $816,000 Metro Pace on nice roll

It’s been an impressive harness-racing debut for Stay Hungry.

The colt is unbeaten in his first three starts, posting a career-best time of 1:50.2 — also a new season’s mark for a two-year-old pacer — to win his elimination event last weekend for the $816,000 Metro Pace.

A $150,000 yearling purchase, Stay Hungry has already earned over $74,000 and is the horse to watch as the early 3/1 favourite in harness racing’s richest event for two-year-olds Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack.

“He has progressed so well since we started,” said trainer Tony Alagna. “We felt like he was sitting on a really big effort and he didn’t disappoint that’s for sure.

“Based on the way we’ve managed him going into this race, I think we’re in good shape.”

Driver Doug McNair of Guelph, Ont., believes Stay Hungry, a son of ’07 Pace champion Somebeachsomewhere, is capable of pacing faster.

“He’s only had the three starts and keeps dropping two seconds a start,” McNair said. “He’s coming into the race as good as any in there, he dropped two more seconds off his previous mark and did it pretty handily.

“He’s green once he clears — he hesitates a bit. But he’s real smart, he knows what he’s doing.”

Also on Saturday’s card is the $500,000 Shes A Great Lady for two-year-old pacing fillies. Percy Bluechip, driven by Trevor Henry of Arthur, Ont., is the early 2/1 favourite in the eight-horse field.

Alagna, who won the ’13 Metro Pace with Captaintreacherous, will have two horses in Saturday night’s marquee event: Stay Hungry and Odds On Lauderdale. He sent out the two together Wednesday at Mohawk to train and said Stay Hungry looked good.

“He trained super,” Alagna said. “He was very sharp.

“All signs look good going forward.”

Stay Hungry will go from the No. 2 post Saturday night, a position McNair said gives horse and driver plenty of options.

“You can go to the front if you want . . . or stay off the pace,” McNair said. “The thing is he’s a very versatile horse.”

Alagna shares that sentiment.

“It will keep (Stay Hungry) close to the action,” he said. “Hopefully he can land into a spot where he catches some cover and is able to have a similar trip to what he did last weekend and be very responsive.

“The race will be dictated by how many horses lead from the outside and how many horses take off from the gate. Doug will have to be watching to see where everybody lands and know what his next step needs to be.”

The field, with post, horse, driver and odds, includes: 1) St Lads Neptune, Jody Jamieson of Moffat, Ont., 20/1; 2) Stay Hungry, McNair; 3) Twin B Tuffenuff. Brett Miller, 6/1; 4) Pedro Hanover, Andrew McCarthy, 5/2; 5) Lost In Time, Scott Zeron of Oakville, Ont., 7/2; 6) Nutcracker Sweet, Tim Tetrick, 8/1; 7) Taste Of History, Louis Philippe Roy of Mont-Joli, Que., 12/1; 8) Odds On Lauderdale, Sylvain Filion of Saint-Andre-D’Argenteuil, Que., 15/1; 9) Springsteen, Chris Ryder, 15/1; and 10) Hayden Hanover, Andy Miller, 12/1.

Pedro Hanover (1:51.2) and Twin B Tuffenuff (1:51.1) were last weekend’s other elimination winners. Pedro Hanover has won his last four races, all stakes events, and five-of-seven starts this season for earnings of $260,656 after being an $80,000 yearling purchase last year.

Miller drove Twin B Tuffenuff to his first win in eight starts last weekend.

With only three lifetime starts, Stay Hungry lacks a lot of big-race experience. But McNair said there are benefits to driving a lightly raced horse.

“They’re fresh and don’t know to get tired yet,” he said. “I told a few people (last weekend) I thought he was ready to go (1:50) and he was.

“He paced well and pretty easy. Once he clears he just waits on them.”

McNair chases his first Pace title Saturday night but said there are many horses in the field capable of reaching the winner’s circle.

“I’ve been waiting a while to get one like (Stay Hungry),” McNair said. “But I think there are three or four different horses that could win it, depending on the trip.

“He can go any way the race sets up. We’ll just play it by ear and hope for some (racing) luck.”

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press