Nyquist Kicks Clear in BC Juvenile Score

Reddam Racing's Nyquist cemented his status as the early favorite for next year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) when the undefeated colt kicked clear leaving the second turn to win the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I).

Bumped at the start and then again shortly thereafter, Nyquist was sixth as the early pace was set by Riker and Unbridled Outlaw through fractions of :23.49 and :47.62. Nyquist and jockey Mario Gutierrez made their his move rounding the turn, kicked clear going into the stretch, and held off the closing challenge of Swipe for a half-length victory in final time of 1:43.79 for 1 1/16 miles.

The winner paid $11.40, $6.20, and $4. Swipe returned $25 and $13, while Brody's Cause paid $5.00 to show. Exaggerator was fourth, followed by Cocked and Loaded, Striker, 7-2 favorite Greenpointcrusader, Conquest Big E, Waterloo Bridge, Sliding Spring, Rated R Superstar, Unbridled Outlaw, Isotherm, and Nyquist's stablemate Ralis.

The victory was the fifth in as many starts for the Doug O'Neill-trained son of Uncle Mo   (Coolmore's leading freshman sire) who was bred in Kentucky by Summerhill Farm. Nyquist's previous grade I victories came in the Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes. With the 20 points earned on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, Nyquist is now solidly in first with 30, including the 10 points earned with the FrontRunner.

"The race didn't unfold like I expected," O'Neill said. "We thought, being on the outside there, with kind of a short run to the first turn, we'd be up on the lead, saving ground. I have to watch the replay, but from my recollection we were five or six wide. But Mario (Gutierrez) did his Mario thing where he just never panicked. From day one, before this horse ever debuted, he had the mind and the stride of a two-turn horse. He was pressured early, and I think with that race under his belt, he turned it around today."



"I've always had confidence in this horse," Gutierrez said. "He's a good one."

"How could you not be thrilled with Swipe's race? He was a $5,000 yearling and he's making good money every time he loads the gates and running on the top level," said Keith Desormeaux, trainer of Swipe and Exaggerator. "How could we not be thrilled? Being that he's by Birdstone  , he should get better as he gets older and want to go longer. The way that he's relaxing into these races and finishing strong, more distance for him can only be an advantage. Today he gave me a thrill through the lane, but I had mixed emotions because I'm pulling for exaggerator and then here comes Swipe. And then I gave up on Exaggerator because I could tell he was beat, and my emotions re-ignited again on the other one, so it was cool."



"It was a little bit slow up front, but I broke well and I got my position and I can't do anything," said Victor Espinoza, who rode Swipe. "I had to be patient. It kind of hurt me a little bit that the stretch. It was hard for me to ride him really hard in the turn because I had to keep a little patience. I didn't want to do too much with him because he's such a young horse."



"I thought Brody's Cause ran a great race," said Dale Romans, who also trains Unbridled Outlaw. "Really no excuses. He had to steady maybe one little time but you have to expect that with a closer. I was very disappointed with Unbridled Outlaw. I think he is every bit as good as 'Brody' and today (jockey Mike Smith) said he got very nervous in the post parade. That's a little of (his sire) Unbridled's Song coming out in him. He's never done that before. We are going to have to do a few things to adjust and regroup and come back."



"We got a good break and he settled nice," said Corey Lanerie, who rode Brody's Cause. "There was lots of traffic on the second turn. I knew I had a lot to do coming down the stretch, but I was still hopeful and he gave me a big run."

"He wanted to go a little quick earlier," jockey Kent Desormeaux said of Exaggerator. "I didn't exactly get a clean trip, but I was there for a while. I would dare say that the horse might have a cold. He was a little raspy and he's never done that before. He's a little under the weather, I'll leave it at that, and he still ran fourth."   



"It's tough in a mile and a sixteenth type of race," said Joe Bravo of Greenpointcrusader. "They shuffled us back a little further. He really never leveled off until the last sixteenth. He's a little funny with horses around him and with fourteen there's going to be horses around him. He's a very good horse, he just needs a chance.

Nyquist went through the sales ring three times, first purchased by Madison Farm from the Paramount Sales consignment to the 2013 Keeneland November sale. Pinhooked by Dromoland into the Keeneland September yearling sale, the colt was bought by Sutton Place Stables for $230,000, Consigned by Niall Brennan Stables into this year's Fasig-Tipton Florida March sale of 2-year-olds in training, Nyquist was purchase by Dennis O'Neill, the trainer's brother, for $400,000.