Nyquist did well as the favorite in his first Triple Crown race, pulling away down the stretch to win the 2016 Kentucky Derby on Saturday. and will face the challenge again in two weeks as the favorite at the Preakness Stakes.
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Last year, American Pharoah won the Triple Crown. Contributing photographer Ronald C. Modra was on hand to capture the action and the fashion of the Kentucky Derby.
Sisterson will oversee the care and training of Nyquist until O’Neill arrives on Thursday.
Casse, who acquired Fellowship and other horses from Jacks or Better Farm after the April 2 Florida Derby, originally targeted Fellowship for the Kentucky Derby.
After the race, trainer Mark Casse, whose main base is at Woodbine in Canada, confirmed that the plan now is to travel to Britain for the Queen Anne Stakes.
The 141st running of the Preakness will be run on Saturday, May 21, at Pimtralico Race Track in Baltimore. Overall, the odds Nyquist actually completes the Triple Crown are a reasonable +200. “He’ll jog one day and gallop the next”. Dazzling Gem finished third to Gun Runner in the Louisiana Derby and fourth behind Creator in the Arkansas Derby.
Sent off as race favourite, Nyquist stopped the clock at two minutes, 1.31 seconds to become the fourth successive market leader to triumph in America’s greatest race. “If anybody comes late, I know he’ll have something to respond to that”.
“It’s just keeping him happy”, Sisterson said.
He seemed to enjoy the run-up to this year’s Derby as well, calmly addressing the doubts about Nyquist’s talent and the questions about medication violations that clouded his training resume until a few years ago.
It was the second Derby win for the team of owner J. Paul Reddam, trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez.
“We didn’t’ work I’ll Have Another, so I don’t think we’ll work Nyquist”.
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“He’s definitely being colored by the I’ll Have Another experience, when he just zinged the horse around there every day”.
