Exaggerator Jogs on Belmont Training Track
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Exaggerator on the Belmont Park training track June 8
Trainer Keith Desormeaux kept a firm hand on the shank and a close eye on his charge as Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Exaggerator cooled out at Belmont Park the morning of June 8.
The son of Curlin was sharp in a feel-good way following his two-mile jog on the Belmont training track, one day after his final breeze in preparation for the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I).
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"Hang in there, hang in there. You're alright," Desormeaux told Exaggerator, while the bay colt played around in the quiet confines of the inner courtyard of Barn 29. With the five-furlong work completed in 1:00 4/5 June 7 under Hall of Fame rider Kent Desormeaux, all that remains is for Exaggerator to keep his feet on the ground and his head in the game in pursuit of a second classic victory.
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"To tell you the truth, he's kinda aggravating," Desormeaux said. "He's a nonstop handful. You can see—I walked him myself and he's wanting to play all the time."
Exaggerator, who races for Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners, and Rocker O Ranch, was runner-up to Nyquist in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) before flipping the script in the May 21 Preakness to give Desormeaux his first win at the classic level. Now, in the days leading up to the Belmont, the Louisiana native is just trying to stay focused on his contender.
"The constant attention is a little nerve-wracking sometimes," Desormeaux said. "I do my best to handle it. I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to it. ... I'm very intense and I try to focus on what my job is. ... My intensity is in watching those owners' horses train. That's where I get all the clues; that's where I get all the tell-tale signs about what those horses want in their training. I'm not good enough to just take a glance and go on. I have to pay attention."
Exaggerator is scheduled to walk the morning of June 9, Desormeaux's usual schedule for his runners.
"They produce lactic acid after a strong performance and you can't get rid of lactic acid standing," the trainer said. "You have to move, so I like to move them after they work and the following day, they walk."