Nyquist Back Breezing Two Turns in SoCal
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Photo: Zoe Metz/Clocker's Corner
Nyquist worked 5 furlongs in 1:01 2/5 on March 10.
After an easy half-mile breeze in his first timed workout since his score in the San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) Feb. 15, Reddam Racing's Nyquist got back to his standard two-turn assignment March 10 at Santa Anita Park.
Under regular exercise rider Jonny Garcia, the undefeated 3-year-old Uncle Mo colt started at the wire and began slowly, but got into his high cruising speed on the backstretch. Nyquist completed the mile drill in 1:46 according to trainer Doug O'Neill's stopwatch (with the final three furlongs in :36 and the final eighth in :12), but was credited with an official time of 1:01 2/5 for five furlongs from Santa Anita's clockers.
"He went great. It was basically :12, :12, :12," O'Neill said of the final three furlongs.
BALAN: Nyquist Scores in San Vicente, Still Unbeaten
Though many of his workouts in preparation for the seven-furlong San Vicente—off a layoff from the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Keeneland—were similar in fashion to his Thursday move, going a full lap around the Santa Anita main track, training up to his second start of 2016 in the April 2 Florida Derby (gr. I) is somewhat different.
"At the end of the day, he has already proven he can go two turns, so we're not worried about that," O'Neill said of Nyquist's victories in the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. "Coming off that layoff, going seven-eighths—that was a challenge. So having him mentally sharp to leave the gate with purpose and have a good enough foundation to go seven-eighths with the best the West Coast has—to pass that was a big challenge.
"Now it's just maintenance mode. We want to keep those competitive juices bottled in and let him rip on April 2."
Other notable workers at Santa Anita Thursday: Cozmic One (four furlongs, :47 2/5), Curlin Rules (five furlongs, :59 4/5), Diplodocus (five furlongs, 1:00 2/5), Frank Conversation (five furlongs, 1:02 1/5), Hoppertunity (five furlongs, 1:00 flat), Midnight Hawk (five furlongs, 1:00 1/5), No Silent (five furlongs, 1:00 4/5), Ralis (five furlongs, 1:02 1/5), and Ziconic (four furlongs, :51 2/5).