Slow Down Andy made his turf debut a winning one with an impressive gate-to-wire victory in the G2 Del Mar Derby on Saturday, 3 September.
The three-year-old Nyquist colt earned his biggest win yet in in his first turf try, adding to an already impressive resume that includes victories in the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity and the G3 Sunland Park Derby.
Breaking sharply out of the starting gate, Slow Down Andy was sent straight to the lead by jockey Mario Gutierrez. The pair set a good pace up front while holding a one-length lead. Slow Down Andy continued to lead going into the far turn. At the top of the lane, he faced a challenge from both Spycatcher and War At Sea, as Balnikhov came flying on the far outside. Slow Down Andy dug down and found more, holding off all challenges to win by a half-length. Spycatcher took second, with War At Sea third.
Slow Down Andy was bred in Kentucky by his owner, Reddam Racing LLC. He is a full brother to Team Merchants, winner of both the Bill Thomas Memorial Stakes and Let It Ride Stakes. Both colts are out of the mare Edwina E (by Square Eddie), a full sister to the multiple Stakes-placed pair of Electric Eddie and Rinse and Repeat.
The leading first crop sire of 2020, Nyquist is having yet another solid year, not only with brothers Slow Down Andy and Team Merchants, but top performers such as multiple Graded Stakes winner Scalding (G3 Ben Ali Stakes, G3 Challenger Stakes), Turnerloose (G2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes), Absolutely Zero (Fasig-Tipton Futurity) and Breakthrough (Wolf Hill Stakes).
