Nyquist Keeping Team O'Neill Calm

Five days after capturing the GI Kentucky Derby and three days after arriving at Pimlico Race Course to begin preparations for the May 21 GI Preakness S., Reddam Racing's Nyquist (Uncle Mo) continues to take everything in stride. Speaking on an NTRA teleconference call Thursday afternoon, trainer Doug O'Neill reported that all signs point to Nyquist being a happy, healthy, and spry horse [video]–qualities that give the trainer and his team a decidedly calm mind set heading into the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

“His appetite was great, his coat looks good,” O'Neill reported from Baltimore. “Elias [Anaya], his main guy, was all smiles. We tacked him up, Jonny [Garcia] got on him and jogged him two miles [Thursday]. He was full of energy and loose, and looked fantastic. So we're very happy with the way the morning went.”

O'Neill outlined his plans for the coming weeks, a schedule that calls for Nyquist to jog and gallop on alternating days. With no serious workouts on the horizon, the four-time Breeders' Cup-winning conditioner said that his primary goal is to preserve his trainee's current level of fitness.

“It's just maintenance mode,” the trainer explained. “Right now, we're just trying to keep him healthy, happy, keep him in the feed tub and keep his appetite strong. Coming back on short rest, the Kentucky Derby was the equivalent to about three or four workouts, so he should be ready.”

O'Neill has been in this position before, having brought fellow Reddam colorbearer I'll Have Another (Flower Alley) to Pimlico in 2012 on the heels of a convincing 1 1/2-length score at double-digit odds in the Derby. Not nearly as accomplished as Nyquist as a juvenile, the chestnut benefitted from a stout training regimen, and in response, delivered his fourth consecutive win by a hard-fought neck in the Preakness. The demanding schedule of the Triple Crown took its toll on I'll Have Another, however, and the colt never made it to the starting gate for the GI Belmont S.

With the benefit of hindsight and the confidence that Nyquist has already achieved a “fitness plateau,” O'Neill said that once again the champion colt leaves him with very few reservations about his conservative training approach heading into the Preakness.

“With I'll Have Another, he kind of struggled through his 2-year-old season, so I was kind of forced to really get good gallops and put his feet where we want them on a daily basis– and I think it worked–but it may have cut his career a little bit short,” O'Neill acknowledged. “With Nyquist having such a strong 2-year-old campaign, unintentionally, this was the way we got him here.”

Whether it was intentional or not, the facts speak for themselves. Nyquist has captured five Grade I races at five different tracks in his young career, including a win in which he overcame a seemingly insurmountable wide trip in last autumn's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland. O'Neill added that the bay's demeanor and “love of competition” allow him to handle travel and unfamiliar circumstances with an aura of professionalism–something that gives him an edge over many of his competitors.

“I never thought I'd say I'd ever been blessed to be around a horse as good as [Hall of Famer] Lava Man (Slew City Slew), but Nyquist is so unique and gives off the vibe like no other,” O'Neill continued. “He follows up that confident vibe with amazing performances in the afternoon, consistently. He's the best horse I've ever been blessed to be around, and what Nyquist has given the whole family at the barn, Team Reddam, Team O'Neill and all of us is a gift that's hard to explain. He's just a special gift.”

In full recognition of that gift, O'Neill said that in many ways, the horse's laid-back temperament serves as both a relaxing influence and a source of pride for members of his staff.

“On a daily basis, the whole team just tries to represent Nyquist in a first-class way, because he deserves that,” the 47-year-old asserted. “It's a real honor. It's hard to explain–as much as it seems like it should be more nerve-wracking, it's actually more calming and enjoyable being around a special horse like Nyquist, who just does things so professionally. He handles all the pressure, all the cameras and the fans that want to see him–he handles that so well that it just rubs off on all of us. That relationship that all of us are so blessed to have with Nyquist makes us all more calm.”

O'Neill said Nyquist is slated to have his first gallop at Pimlico Friday, and will visit the starting gate at the track next Wednesday.