Nyquist is attended to by hot walker Fernel “Lefty” Serrano after a workout at Pimlico Race Course, Friday, May 20, 2016, in Baltimore.
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Nyquist will start third from the rail on Saturday while Exaggerator begins from the fifth position in the 11-horse field.
Those two horses are likely to be the best runners at the Preakness, but their order could be reversed.
Nyquist seems to dig down when he is engaged with another horse. The National Weather Service has called for a 100 percent chance of rain on Saturday, a day-long downpour that is expected to drop an inch in total.
“We’re confident, and when you look at him, how can you not be?” said his trainer, Doug O’Neill, who pulled off the Kentucky Derby-Preakness Double with I’ll Have Another in 2012. “We’d love to have a handsome day”.
Exaggerator had a spectacular run in his most recent win, exploding down the stretch after lagging by 10 lengths to take the Santa Anita Derby by six lengths on a very sloppy track.
“I’ll be one of the few people doing a rain dance”, Cherry Wine’s trainer Dale Romans said.
He won on a good track once, the Florida Derby when he won a $1 million bonus.
“He’s really fast”, said Bob Baffert, who trained 2015 Triple Crown victor American Pharoah and will saddle Collected this weekend. His first crop of runners hit the races in 2015, successfully enough to put Uncle Mo atop the freshman sire rankings previous year, and the current leading second-crop sire has three runners in addition to Nyquist in the Preakness: Uncle Lino (20-1), Laoban (30-1), and Abiding Star (30-1). Nyquist is owned by Paul Reddam of Windsor, Ont., and ridden by jockey Mario Gutierrez, who rose to prominence while racing in Vancouver.
I’m either going to bet Nyquist over four or five horses, including Stradavari, or I’m going to bet only exacta and trifecta boxes. “I know I would’ve caught up to him around the eighth pole, but I daresay I’m not sure Nyquist would’ve let me by”. The only one that fell short was Orb in 2013, a very lukewarm Kentucky Derby favorite at over 5-1 odds, who finished fourth place in the Preakness.
Over the past four years, the best horse entering the Kentucky Derby – and the most popular at the windows – prevailed with relative ease as chalk bettors reveled in easy scores. “And I said for someone to buy two lotto tickets in one lifetime, I don’t think that’s ever happened”.
Were not wishing for one track over another, Desormeaux said, I prefer to have my picture taken in the sun..
Lani, the first Japan-based horse in the Preakness, is the only other Derby starter in the field. The flighty gray colt arrived at Pimlico on Thursday.
Awesome Speed (4), Laoban (8), Abiding Star (9) also have good early speed but not everyone can be on the lead.
That’s because rain or shine will make all the difference in the world as to which horse stands in the winner’s circle and whether hopes for a second consecutive Triple Crown remain alive. When a track surface becomes muddy or sloppy, trainers could opt for mud caulks small cleats inserted on the back end of the shoe for better traction.
Among the challenges of the Triple Crown are the changing dynamics of each race. I think these two talented colts will repeat their Derby showings and run 1-2 again, setting up a potential Affirmed/Alydar-type showdown in the Belmont Stakes. The other speed horses, in addition to Nyquist, have proven they can win from slightly off the pace.
With the exception of closers Cherry Wine and Fellowship, most of these newcomers either want to race on the lead or within close proximity of the pace, which could make for a crowded run into the first turn and potentially lead to a quick pace.
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Nyquist will exit from the No. 3 post position, where O’Neill is hopeful that his Eclipse Award champion can break sharply from the starting gate.
