Nyquist Cruises in Afternoon Breeze

A proven star on the track, Reddam Racing's undefeated Nyquist got the full star treatment Oct. 23 at Santa Anita Park, with the track all to himself and a workmate for his final breeze in preparation for the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I).



Walking onto the track at about 12:15 p.m. PT, Nyquist drilled five furlongs in 1:02.09 in company with an unidentified workmate for trainer Doug O'Neill. It was the third workout for the Uncle Mo   colt since his hard-earned score in the Sept. 26 FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita.

NOVAK: Nyquist Determined in FrontRunner Score



"It was to get a traffic-free (work) and you never know until you ask," O'Neill said. "I figured they would say no, but when they said sure—it was very kind of Santa Anita to let us do it."



Nyquist broke two lengths behind his workmate at the five-eighths pole, passed in the turn, and cruised to the wire under regular jockey Mario Gutierrez.



"It was a nice, solid, steady move," O'Neill said. "Mario was happy with it and we're very happy. We're good to go."



In the morning, O'Neill also had a trio of Breeders' Cup workers in Land Over Sea (four furlongs in :51 flat, for Juvenile Fillies), Sharla Rae (four furlongs in :50 3/5, for Filly & Mare Turf), and Jimmy Bouncer (five furlongs in 1:01 1/5, for Turf Sprint).



"They worked great," O'Neill said. "They're fit and ready to go, so we're just looking for maintenance (works), and we got what we wanted."



The entire O'Neill crew is scheduled to ship to Keeneland early the morning of Oct. 25.