Team Optimistic, Nyquist 'Full of Energy'

Trainer Doug O'Neill said he's confident in the training strategy he has employed with Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) favorite Nyquist, who did a little more than jog the morning of May 5 at Churchill Downs.

The 3-year-old Uncle Mo   colt walked, then jogged, and "was full of energy" after he was permitted to leave the pony, O'Neill said. He galloped down the stretch toward the inside of the track under exercise rider Jonny Garcia.

"Jonny joked he couldn't feel his hands or his arms from the energy Nyquist was displaying," O'Neill said. "The morning started out with him looking over the (stall) webbing bright-eyed, and he cleaned out his feed tub."

O'Neill, owner Paul Reddam, and jockey Mario Gutierrez held a brief media conference at noon Thursday and said they have no reason not to be optimistic as they seek to win the Derby for the second time. The first came in 2012 with I'll Have Another, who went on to win the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) but missed the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) after he was scratched the day before the race because of a tendon injury.

O'Neill said he stuck with the usual workout routine for I'll Have Another even though he was preparing the colt for the Triple Crown series. It worked, so he hasn't deviated much by employing "stamina works" with Nyquist.

"We've seen really good results," O'Neill said. "We learned from I'll Have Another. We kept doing what we did, and it worked."

Gutierrez, who has ridden Nyquist to victory in all seven of the colt's starts, said his versatility could come in handy in the 20-horse field Saturday. Nyquist drew well in post 13.

"He can do a lot of different things," Gutierrez said. "A lot of scenarios can play in the Kentucky Derby. I think finding the right place is the key to him having a good race.

"Anything can happen in horse racing. I have to be aware of all the competition, and they should be aware of me as well."

Reddam said the team was confident when I'll Have Another was heading into the Derby, but things are different this year.

"This year we have the favorite, and we're getting a lot of attention," the owner said. "With (I'll Have Another), people we're telling us that with post 19, we're screwed. Our team this year is a lot more mature than it was (in 2012)."

Nyquist enters the Derby with four grade I wins at four different tracks and two grade II wins. A $1 million bonus he earned for winning the Xpressbet.com Florida (gr. I) helped push his earnings thus far to $3,322,600. He is the 3-1 favorite for the Derby, and May 4 drew post 13, the same position from which he won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) to cement his 2-year-old championship.