Nyquist Draws Post Three for Preakness

Reddam Racing's Nyquist (Uncle Mo), campaigned by the same connections who conquered the 2012 GI Preakness S. with I'll Have Another (Flower Alley), will look to take his record to a perfect nine-for-nine from post position three in Saturday's second leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The bay colt became just the second horse in history to complete the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile/GI Kentucky Derby double when holding out his rallying arch-rival Exaggerator (Curlin) by 1 1/4 lengths at Churchill Downs May 7 and is just the second 2-year-old champion to emerge from the Derby unbeaten to date.

Trainer Doug O'Neill knows that he has a horse that puts himself into his races with a quick first step and he's happy to leave the decision making to jockey Mario Gutierrez. “I think with his gate speed, the post position draw wasn't as important. Uncle Lino (Uncle Mo), who's a really talented horse with a lot of speed, is right inside of us, so, hopefully we both break good and we'll see what happens. But there's other speed outside, too. It's in Mario's hands and we have a lot of faith in him and he's got a lot of faith in the horse.” (Click for the interview with Doug O'Neill).

While Nyquist was ridden positively in the Derby and ultimately sat a stalking trip outside of Danzing Candy (Twirling Candy) and Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) on a faster-than-expected pace, there appears to be even more speed in the Preakness. While it seems more than likely that Gutierrez will elect to get Nyquist to settle behind the speed this time, Exaggerator will be found towards the back of the pace. The Big Chief Racing Runner, who came from 15th and made up most of a 17-length deficit in the Run for the Roses, found a bit of trouble on the turn, but finished full of run. That he has a sixteenth of a mile less real estate cannot be in his favor, but a Saturday forecast that calls for significant precipitation could well slide the needle–and possibly the toteboard–in his direction.

“I guess we have to call it a non-issue for us where most horses have not run on an off or sloppy or a quagmire, like Santa Anita was that day [victory in the GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 9],” trainer Keith Desormeaux explained. “At least we know we can do it, so if you want to call that an advantage, we'll take it.”

But can Exaggerator reverse form?

“We have to respect Nyquist for what he's done,” said Desormeaux, who will give a leg up to former Maryland star jockey, his brother Kent. “The only thing we can do to perhaps turn the tables is that Exaggerator is such a quick-recovering horse. The two-week turnaround is going to play to our advantage instead of to most horses' disadvantage. We're confident we can turn the tables.”

While those two are expected to dominate the market, 'TDN Rising Star' Stradivari (Medaglia d'Oro) was somewhat surprisingly installed the 8-1 third choice on the morning line despite being the only one of the 11 entrants with nary a stakes appearance.  That being said, talent can overcome inexperience, and if able to reproduce the form that saw him dust a solid Keeneland allowance field by some 14 1/2 lengths Apr. 17, he cannot be ignored, though he will have some work to do from the widest in post 11.

“He's generally a good gate horse and that gives [jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] the ability to break and survey things inside and see where he wants to hopefully position him going into the first turn,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “The good thing is you can kind of dictate things instead of them being dictated to you when you're on the outside like that.”

Since 2000, only three horses (Red Bullet, 2000; Bernardini, 2006; and Rachel Alexandra, 2009) have won the Preakness absent a start in the Derby. Including Stradivari, fully eight of Saturday's entrants will try to add to that record. Trainer Bob Baffert has hoisted the Woodlawn Vase on six occasions since 1997 and is represented by under-the-radar Collected (City Zip), last-out winner of Keeneland's GIII Lexington S. Another interesting California-based entrant is Uncle Lino, one of three in the race for his sensational young sire whose progressive form includes a distant third to Exaggerator in the Santa Anita Derby and a very tough half-length success in the inaugural California Chrome S. at Los Alamitos Apr. 30.