Classic Winners Exaggerator, Nyquist Work

A pair of classic winners preparing for planned starts in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) Sept. 24 at Parx Racing breezed Sept. 17.

Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Exaggerator delivered a five-furlong move at Churchill Downs, while Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Nyquist completed one mile at the San Luis Rey Training Center.

Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners, Rocker O Ranch, and partners' Exaggerator was clocked five-eighths in 1:00 1/5, which ranked as the second-fastest move of 37 at the distance on a fast main track. Dwyer Stakes (gr. III) winner Fish Trappe Road earned the bullet for five furlongs, completing the distance in :59 1/5. 

Meanwhile, Nyquist handily completed one mile in 1:38 1/5 at the San Luis Rey Training Center, where the Derby winner has worked four times since Aug. 27 as he prepares for his first start since finishing fourth in the Betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (gr. I) July 31 at Monmouth Park.

Churchill clockers caught Exaggerator in fractions of :12, :24, and :36 before galloping out in six furlongs in 1:13.60 and seven-eighths of a mile in 1:27. Brian Hernandez Jr. was aboard for the move.

"He went well," said Hernandez, who breezed Exaggerator twice before as a 2-year-old. "He came back good and everything. He just cruised around to the five-eighths (pole) and he just went around on his own like the pro that he is and I let him cruise along."

Trainer Keith Desormeaux, making the trip to Louisville from the Keeneland September sale, was on hand for the work and confirmed the horse would ship to Parx Racing on Wednesday.

"Everything went beautifully," Desormeaux said. "The time was right, he finished strong and he galloped out strong. He's not winded and that's a beautiful thing but that's what good horses get you. It's hard to screw up a good horse."

On the West Coast, trainer Doug O'Neill was thrilled with the Derby winner's move on Saturday.

"He worked really well—a mile in 1:38-and-change by himself. He showed great energy and cooled out well," O'Neill said. "Jonny Garcia—an amazing exercise rider—was all smiles. His groom was all smiles. It was a very good morning at San Luis Rey this morning."

Saturday marked the fourth timed workout by Nyquist at San Luis Rey in August and September, all at one mile. O'Neill said the time at the training center has allowed Nyquist to get comfortable with his growing frame away from the racetrack.

"We put a stick on him in early spring and he was 16-hands tall. We measured him the other day and he was over 16-2, so he's grown a tad over two inches in a matter of four or five months. He definitely went through a little growth spurt," O'Neill said. "What we were looking for here was a place that was quiet; a place to let him chill out properly. It's really done what we were all hoping it would do. He's added much-needed weight to his taller frame and he just has really good energy.

"We're just really happy with where he is right now."

Like Exaggerator, Nyquist is scheduled to ship to Parx on Wednesday.

Exaggerator also has won the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) and Haskell this season. He finished second in the Kentucky Derby, but has been inconsistent—he finished well back in both the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (gr. I) and in his most recent start, the Aug. 27 Travers Stakes (gr. I). His three graded stakes wins this season have all come on sloppy tracks.

Nyquist, last year's champion 2-year-old male, opened this season with wins in the San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) and Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (gr. I) before his Derby win. He then finished third in the Preakness and fourth in the Haskell.