Nyquist Cruises to Victory in the 142nd Kentucky Derby

Brilliant. Unbeaten. Champion. Nyquist is all that and much more -- the son of Uncle Mo is now a Kentucky Derby winner. The one race that everyone wants to win, was taken today in convincing fashion by the horse that few wanted to believe was as good as he clearly is. Perfect in eight career starts, the Juvenile Champion of 2015 proved once and for all that, yes, he could get the distance. He also clearly demonstrated that he is the king of this crop.

The 2-1 post time favorite broke like a shot from the 13-hole and quickly grabbed the lead. He was also controlled and relaxed enough to let the speedy Danzing Candy cruise right on by him from the far outside. Trained by Doug O’Neill, and owned by Paul Reddam, Nyquist went into the first turn a comfortable second, with the Louisiana Derby winner, Gun Runner, just behind him in third. Out in front, the San Felipe winner was setting a very fast early pace of :22.58 and :45.72. Despite the taxing early fractions, Nyquist looked not to be working too hard, about three lengths behind Danzing Candy.

After six furlongs in 1:10.40, Gun Runner was the first to move in on the leader. With Danzing Candy beginning to soften up from the quick fractions, the third choice made his move to the outside, but Nyquist quickly followed to his outside. As the field of 20 came spinning out of the far turn, it was Gun Runner on the inside, with Nyquist poised to take over on the outside. Meanwhile, Exaggerator, who had been near the back of the pack early was successfully weaving his way through traffic and looking like the one horse that could possibly threaten the march to the wire of Nyquist.

Exaggerator, under three-time Kentucky Derby winning rider, Kent Desormeaux, continued to gain ground on the leader throughout the stretch, but Nyquist, who had put away Gun Runner with authority, had plenty left to turn away the spirited challenge of his familiar challenger. Nyquist crossed the Churchill Downs finish line a length-and-a-quarter champion of the 142nd edition of America’s most famous race.

In victory, the horse named after Detroit Red Wings hockey star, Gustav Nyquist, became only the eighth horse to win the Kentucky Derby while still undefeated. His rider, Mario Gutierrez is now perfect in two Kentucky Derby starts, having also teamed up with the Nyquist connections to win the run for the roses four years ago with I’ll Have Another. “It’s unreal. No words can describe it," exclaimed the jubilant winning rider.

Longshot players found no love in this year’s Derby, as the top four choices finished 1-2-3-4. Exaggerator ran a whale of a race to finish clearly second best, and his rider lamented one point of the race which could have made it even better. “My horse slammed on the brakes at the 3 ½, ducked back to the inside and then took off," said Desormeaux. “When you see the replay, it will be obvious. Before the race, my brother was really calm, calmer than any trainer I have ever ridden for. He just told me to have fun out there.” Gun Runner was game, and just held third over Mohaymen, while the late running fifth-place finisher, Suddenbreakingnews just missed passing both by a jump or two.

Final time for the ten furlongs over the track still fast, despite a short, but spirited thunderstorm more than an hour before the big race, was 2:01.31. That clocking makes it the fastest Kentucky Derby in 13 years, since the New York-bred gelding came home in 2:01.19.

As the clear favorite, Nyquist returned $6.60, $4.80, and $3.60 across the board. The $2 exacta over the second choice, Exaggerator returned $30.60, while the $2 trifecta, completed by Gun Runner, paid $173.40

It will be on to Baltimore next for Nyquist, who will try to emulate the Reddam-O’Neill-Gutierrez star of 2012, I’ll Have Another, who added a Preakness score to his Kentucky Derby win, before being forced to miss the Belmont due to a physical setback.

A champion going in, Nyquist today left no doubt today that he is the best horse in the race, and will arrive at Pimlico a clear favorite to add to the Middle Jewel of racing’s Triple Crown to his ever growing resume. Should he win there, he will move within one step of joining last year’s champion, American Pharoah, as the only horse to win the Triple Crown in the 21st century. But for now, we can all hail him as the Kentucky Derby Champion of 2016. We can only imagine what how proud his connections are of their star.

“He’s a special, special horse," added O'Neill. "You can see it in his eye on a daily basis. He knows how to bring his ‘A’ game. If he was a human athlete, we’d celebrate him as a super star.”