NYQUIST rocks the world May 7th
Nyquist was brilliant in his Run for the Roses! He is the only horse in the field of 20 that ran right through the mud cleanly! He looks like he just had a bath he and his jockey!
The racing world wondered if there was a worthy successor to last year's Triple Crown champion, American Pharaoh! Enter Nyqvist.
Before Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, he got his start in Central Florida. He was trained at the Niall Brennan stables in Ocala.
The bay colt who closely resembles American Pharaoh won the Kentucky Derby by 1¼ lengths Saturday and improved to 8-0 in his career as he became the fourth consecutive favorite to win the race.
AMERICAN PHARAOH
NYQUIST
Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist ran 1¼ miles in 2:01.31 and held off a hard-charging Exaggerator at the wire. Nyquist became the eighth unbeaten winner in the race's 142-year history and the first since Big Brown in 2008. Nyqvist paid $6.60, $4.80 and $3.60 as the 2-1 favorite in the full field of 20 horses.
"This is such a special horse," O'Neill said of Nyquist. "You can see it in his eye on a daily basis, and he's such a professional. Any human sport, he'd be the top-notch athlete. He's just first-class.''
Nyquist enjoyed a perfect trip over the Churchill Downs dirt in front of 167,227, the second-largest crowd in Derby history. The 3-year-old colt broke well out of the 13th post and showed some early speed getting away from the gate. Gutierrez eased Nyqvist back to let speedster Danzing Candy take the lead going into the chaotic first turn.
The bay colt is from the first crop of sire Uncle Mo, who never got the chance to run in the Derby after being the early favorite for the 2011 race. He was scratched the day before because of a stomach illness. Uncle Mo had two other offspring in this year's race: Mo Tom and Outwork.
Now Nyqvist is the horse in position to replicate the feat, with the Preakness Stakes up next on May 21.
Media members voting in the weekly power rankings boosted Nyquist to No. 3, now behind only 2014 Derby winner California Chrome and Tepin, the mare that won her sixth straight stakes race Saturday, the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile.
A son of Uncle Mo, Nyquist also passed Beholder, No. 4 this week after making a winning return to the races in Sunday's Adoration Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The other unbeaten 2-year-old champion, filly Songbird, rounded out the top five.
Kentucky Oaks winner Cathryn Sophia landed one spot outside of the top
Just under 48 hours after he captured the Kentucky Derby, Nyquist arrived at Pimlico Race Course where he will try to win the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown - the 141st Preakness Stakes - on Saturday, May 21.
Just under 48 hours after he captured the Kentucky Derby, Nyquist arrived at Pimlico Race Course where he will try to win the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown - the 141st Preakness Stakes - on Saturday, May 21.
Nyquist was placed in Stall 24 in the Barn D. Assistant trainer Jack Sisterson said the colt will walk the shed row on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and is likely to go to the track for some light exercise on Thursday morning.
Traveling with Nyquist from Louisville was Land Over Sea, the runner-up in the Kentucky Oaks and a candidate for the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on Friday, May 20. Sisters said that plans for the other five runners have not been finalized, but that they are expected to run at Pimlico.
