By the time the Belmont hits, Nyquist will have run four races since February and three in a seven-week span from the Florida Derby through the Preakness Stakes.
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O’Neill, Nyquist’s trainer, was watching as the names of every Derby victor since 1875 popped up on the screen, floated about and disappeared.
Stalking leader Danzing Candy through some of the fastest early fractions in Derby history, Nyquist bolted to the lead coming out of the final turn and jolted the horse racing world back to life with a 1 1/4 length victory that stamps him as a serious threat to become the sport’s second Triple Crown victor in as many years, after 37 years without one.
Jockey Mario Gutierrez wasn’t surprised Nyquist held off Exaggerator on the final turn to make him 2-0 in the Derby.
Nyquist heads into the Run for the Roses today at Churchill Downs as the early 3-1 favorite in a full field of 20 horses. Exaggerator placed second, a furious finish unable to close the gap. Nyquist was the 2-year-old champion, after all.
Nyquist, named for National Hockey League player Gustav Nyquist, who plays for the Red Wings, gives owner J. Paul Reddam, trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez their second Derby victor.
The unbeaten Derby victor could face as many as 13 Challengers in the Preakness.
“This is such a special horse”, O’Neill said of Nyquist on Saturday, per the Associated Press. “You see it in his eye on a daily basis”.
A crowd of 167,227 saw the race under sunny skies.
Nyquist is following a schedule similar to I’ll Have Another, who also spent the two weeks leading up to the Preakness at Pimlico. There’s a reason O’Neill keeps praying for his horse to avoid injury – he knows that otherwise, Nyquist has a strong shot to join American Pharoah in the exclusive club of Triple Crown winners. “I think he’s been thinking all along, ‘Let’s have a fresh horse'”. However after a great ride by jockey Mario Gutierrez in the one mile two furlong race, his career record stands at eight wins from eight runs. He rarely does more than he needs to and nothing dazzling.
Yet Nyquist has a supporter in Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer who guided American Pharoah. The colt was undefeated in seven starts and had beaten at one time or another almost a quarter of the field assembled here.
“He does it workmanlike, but he does it fast. The horses are not machines, so it will be a great race”.
The plan is to go easy on the horse this week.
Exaggerator returned $5.40 and $4.20, while Gun Runner was another 3 1/4 lengths back in third and paid $6 to show.
J. Paul Reddam’s Nyquist is scheduled to arrive at Pimlico Race Course late Monday afternoon to prepare for a much-anticipated start in the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1) May 21.
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Nyquist emerged from his wide draw in gate 13 with clear daylight ahead of him after expected front-runner Danzig Candy broke poorly outside and had to be rushed up to take his position on the front end. It doesn’t seem like we have gotten to the bottom of him. Nyquist and Gun Runner overtook tiring leader Danzing Candy at the top of the stretch. He put away Gun Runner and sped to the finish line, with Exaggerator closing but never threatening after coming from well back.
