Exaggerator Well After Derby, on to Preakness
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Photo: Chad B. Harmon
Exaggerator with assistant trainer Julie Clark at Churchill Downs on May 4, 2016.
Alternating between falling asleep and trying to playfully nip at assistant trainer Julie Clark May 8 in his stall at Barn 25 on the Churchill Downs backstretch, it was clear Exaggerator came out of his second-place run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) in good order.
"Hey, you're not that tired, obviously," Clark said, dodging a bite from the Curlin colt.
With the encouraging run for trainer Keith Desormeaux in the Derby, when he closed from 17 3/4 lengths back to get within 1 1/4 of Nyquist at the wire, Exaggerator is almost surely heading to Pimlico Race Course for the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) to take another shot at the undefeated champion.
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"That plan was, if he runs well, to go ahead to the Preakness," said Clark, who also indicated she was unsure when Exaggerator will ship to Baltimore. "He bounces back awful quickly and I think that's why they considered sending him to the Preakness."
It will be Exaggerator's fifth try to take down Nyquist, following their maiden special weight debuts in June of 2015 at Santa Anita Park, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), the San Vicente (gr. II), and now the Derby. He races for Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners, and Rocker O Ranch.
"He looks great right now. We have zero complaints," Clark said of the Derby run. "It was great. We'll just have to keep trying, I guess."