He was going to send a sheet of champagne to anyone who was within spraying distance. “Doug has trained us for 12 years now”.
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Kentucky Derby victor Nyquist, is held by Fernel Serrano at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Sunday, May 8, 2016. At one point, Nyquist stuck his nose into the cup.
Mohaymen (11-1) finished fourth, and Suddenbreakingnews (24-1) was fifth. The horse is undefeated in his eight-race career, and will look to extend the streak at the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Gun Runner raced alongside Nyquist on the backstretch and led the field into the stretch from an inside position. “You don’t have to move around a lot”. “He’s got the heart, and a horse with heart will go further than they’re supposed to go”. “Part of me was, ‘God, I want to represent Nyquist in the proper way.’ I think the whole crew did a pretty good job, so it felt good being the favorite”.
“He’s definitely the best horse I have ever been around”, O’Neill said Saturday.
All of that is the long way of saying that this horse is one of us now, and the timing couldn’t be better. I think with the weather out here [in Kentucky], you can’t do that. “Mario has got ice in his veins”, he said.
But there is still an institutional bias by those on the East Coast.
Bred by Summerhill Farm, Nyquist is the first foal produced by the winning Forestry mare Seeking Gabrielle, who is a half-sister to Grade 3 victor Seeking The Sky, who is herself the dam of the Grade 1-winning Sahara Sky. It takes more than a good horse to win the Derby. Luis Quiñonez took him to the rail out of the final turn and was then forced to angle him wide around a wall of horses early in the stretch.
O’Neill eased up and has been alternating Nyquist’s training. “Same thing with Sunday Silence and Easy Goer”. “Knowing what this horse is capable of doing, he did it today”. Alydar never raced west of Arlington Park near Chicago. And can he get through two more tough races with the shipping and hoopla and everything that comes with it to become the 13th Triple Crown victor in history?
Two others who were entered in the Kentucky Derby but didn’t make the field – Laoban and Cherry Wine – are expected to try Nyquist in the Preakness.
Balch says that racing in California can also be intimidating.
All week, optimism filled the air in O’Neill’s barn.
Figuring out how this West Coast dominance will play out in two weeks at the Preakness is still pretty hard to figure out.
The official winning time for the 1 1/4-mile race was 2:01.31.
The fallout from that crushing disappointment could have split the partnership, but instead, it affirmed the loyalty between O’Neill and Reddam, who stood by his trainer through a spate of medication violations.
But most of the trainers are taking a few days to figure out their options.
Although it is unlikely, It is too early in the piece to speculate whether Nyquist will be able to stay the 2,400 metres of the Belmont Stakes on June 11 but he has displayed so far that he can deal with nearly any situation.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Mohaymen could not contain Gunner Runner in the race for third, while UAE Derby victor Lani was ninth for Japan.
Exaggerator, the second betting choice at 5/1, made a nice late run to finish in second, with Gun Runner completing the Trifecta.
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Collected won the Lexington Stakes by four lengths and led for most of the race due to his quick speed out of the gate, according to Horse Racing Nation.
