Exaggerator took advantage of sloppy conditions and a “dream trip” to win the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes by 3-1/2 lengths in Baltimore on Saturday, ending Kentucky Derby victor Nyquist’s bid for the Triple Crown.
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A light mist was falling over Pimlico Race Course when the coyote finally caught the roadrunner, as Exaggerator utilized the wet-track skills he flashed in the Santa Anita Derby in April.
As Nyquist showed the way to 10 rivals at the top of the stretch, Exaggerator made a menacing move as Desormeaux angled him to the middle of the track.
The 3-year-old son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin trailed by 13 lengths at one point but kept gaining ground along the rail.
Desormeaux has said that Exaggerator’s schedule all along had the Belmont Stakes on it. The trainer has said his horse recovers quickly from races, and that had already started on Sunday.
“I was on the fence and they stayed wide”, Kent Desormeaux said.
“These turns, you want to paint the fence”, he said. Exaggerator’s trainer Keith Desormeaux signaled no hesitation about heading to the Belmont: “I’ll be there with bells on”, he said.
The complete Preakness order of finish: Exxagerator, Cherry Wine, Nyquist, Stradivari, Lani, Laoban, Uncle Lino, Fellowship, Awesome Speed, Collected and Abiding Star.
The idea of a rematch appeals to Exaggerator’s trainer, Keith Desormeaux.
1994: Go for Gin won the Kentucky Derby but finished second in the Preakness and Belmont to Tabasco Cat, who was sixth in the Derby. They each went to Maryland 30 years ago, Kent to ride and eventually set the American record for wins in a year (598 in 1989) on his way to the Hall of Fame and Keith to learn under veteran Maryland trainers Tom Caviness and Charles Hadry.
It was a damp, drizzly day at Pimlico, with an alleged record crowd of 135,256.
Gutierrez said he tried to get Nyquist off Uncle Lino, “But I just couldn’t”.
Preakness runner-up Cherry Wine is a likely runner alongside his Dale Romans-trained stablemate Brody’s Cause, well fancied for the Kentucky Derby before finishing seventh.
Few horses not shooting for the Triple Crown run in all three races, but the fact that O’Neill hasn’t ruled it out is a good sign. And, unlike Nyquist, Exaggerator was nice and relaxed in a race of his own. We prepare and hope and make sure we’ve done all we can to get the horse to the race in the best shape we can.
And that cruel accident came after another horse, Homeboykris, broke down and died after winning the opening race of the day. The horse was euthanized on the track. His odds sat at 5-2 coming out of the No. 5 post compared to heavy favorite Nyquist’s 3-5 odds at No. 3 leading up to the race.
“With a horse like Nyquist, I’m not overly concerned about the weather”, O’Neill said Friday. “I’m very proud of him”. I didn’t get a chance to talk with Mario (Gutierrez).
The Preakness Stakes was Desormeaux’s only win for the week from his three mounts.
Pramedya’s jockey, Daniel Centeno, was thrown to the turf and fractured his right collarbone.
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The decision to aim at the third jewel of the Triple Crown wasn’t hard, O’Neill said.
