Exaggerator had finished behind Nyquist at their four previous encounters, including a last start second in the Kentucky Derby.
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But Exaggerator, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, produced a masterful display on a sodden course to overhaul the favourite on the home straight.
“I’m in shock right now” said mud-splattered winning jockey Kent Desormeaux, brother of winning trainer Desormeaux.
It was a disappointment for Nyquist, who was a 3-5 favorite to win the Preakness before the day started.
Others expected for the 1½-mile Belmont include Cherry Wine and fifth-place Preakness finisher Lani, as well as Sudenbreakingnews (fifth in the Derby), Destin (sixth, Derby), Brody’s Cause (seventh, Derby) and Governor Malibu, runner-up in the Peter Pan at Belmont on May 14.
Nyquist started fast but faded in the stretch and finished third, behind Cherry Wine.
The triple crown certainly sparked some interest from casual race fans as everyone seemed to believe Nyquist could pull of the feat again.
It wasn’t until the three-sixteenths pole that Nyquist was able to dispatch of Uncle Lino, but Exaggerator, under Kent Desormeaux, jumped on the Kentucky Derby victor and went past him. The one at the Santa Anita Derby I tried to play down because it was just a meltdown pace in front of us.
A drenched crowd of estimated at what would be a record 134,000 saw Exaggerator end his losing streak in a big way. “They stayed really wide”, said winning jockey Kent Desormeaux. That’s the difference between a Derby victor and a Triple Crown champion.
The idea of a rematch appeals to Exaggerator’s trainer, Keith Desormeaux.
O’Neill said he would wait to see how Nyquist comes out of the Preakness before deciding whether to run in the Belmont.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called on the horses’ owners “to release veterinary records & complete list of medications that horses were administered before #Preakness races”.
Pramedya’s jockey, Daniel Centeno, was thrown to the turf and fractured his right collarbone.
Nyquist, unbeaten in his eight-race career, had been targeting the second leg of a Triple Crown following an emphatic victory at the Kentucky Derby earlier this month.
Though there appeared to be plenty of other speed horses in the Preakness, O’Neill wanted jockey Mario Gutierrez to obtain a forward position.
“I hope it’s not only because of the muddy track”, Desormeaux said.
Exaggerator, the second choice at 5-2 to Nyquist’s 3-5, paid $7.20 for a $2 win ticket. The Jacksons’ 4-year-old filly Pramedya was euthanized on the track Saturday after she broke down during the fourth race.
Trainer Keith Desormeaux always hates to talk about what it means to have brother Kent riding for him in some of the most important races of their lives. The horses died in separate incidents before the Triple Crown race even began. “So I’m very happy”, O’Neill said Sunday.
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But the critical difference between Exaggerator and Nyquist was their riders.
