Page 4B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Nyquist not the buzziest of favorites for Kentucky Derby
at rest when asked about his
rough ride four years ago,
saying, “I’m not going to go
there.”
O’Neill credits Nyquist
for creating a positive vibe
around the Southern Califor-
nia-based trainer’s barn.
“Having a horse like
Nyquist has given us an
opportunity to really show
everyone how we’re here to
serve the horses and see the
love and care given to the
horses,” he said. “He’s been
a gift in many ways.”
Besides O’Neill and
Reddam, jockey Mario
Gutierrez is along for the
ride again, all having learned
valuable lessons four years
ago.
“We found out that time
that we had success doing
what we’d been doing all
along,” O’Neill said. “It
worked, so we’re just doing
that again — same patterns,
same style. We just want to
stay on course. That’s what’s
going to work. We know that
now.”
Baffert is back to saddle
12-1 shot Mor Spirit in
BETH HARRIS
AP Racing Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Go
ahead and pity Kentucky
Derby favorite Nyquist. He
has the unenviable task of
following in the hoof prints
of Triple Crown champion
American Pharoah, and so
far isn’t getting the respect
expected for the only unde-
feated horse in the race.
Nyquist
heads
into
the Run for the Roses on
Saturday at Churchill Downs
as the early 3-1 favorite in
a full ield of 20 horses.
Deservedly so, based on a
resume that includes being a
champion at age two, victo-
ries at four different tracks
in the East and West, and an
ability to overcome all sorts
of obstacles in his races.
Still, Nyquist isn’t the
buzziest of horses. Heck,
even his owner J. Paul
Reddam said that as a fan
he’d bet against his horse.
Handicappers and racing
fans haven’t been talking
up the bay colt named for
Detroit Red Wings player
Gustav Nyquist (Reddam is a
fan) either.
Nyquist has won his
seven races, including four
prestigious Grade 1s, by a
combined 15 lengths — an
average of just over two
lengths. He rarely does more
than he needs to and nothing
dazzling. He tends to drift out
in the stretch, which could
indicate the distance he’s run
is about as far as he wants to
go. He doesn’t even have any
markings — no blaze on his
head, no white stockings on
his feet.
His sire, Uncle Mo, was
a juvenile champion and
the 2011 Derby favorite
scratched the day before the
race with an illness. Nyquist
is one of his three offspring in
the race, but nobody knows if
Uncle Mo’s irst crop of foals
can run the classic distance
of 1 1/4 miles because there
is no proven pedigree.
Yet Nyquist has a
supporter in Bob Baffert, the
Hall of Fame trainer who
guided American Pharoah.
“He does it workmanlike,
but he does it fast. When
you’re fast and you stay out
of trouble in a 20-horse ield,
that’s a big edge,” Baffert
said. “He’s got the heart, and
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Exercise rider Jonny Garcia rides Kentucky Derby hopeful Nyquist during a workout
Tuesday at Churchill Downs.
a horse with heart will go
further than they’re supposed
to go.”
In a year of can-you-
top-a-Triple-Crown winner,
Nyquist has already done
so inancially. He’s earned a
record $3,322,600, including
a $1 million bonus for
winning the Florida Derby in
his last race.
None of the doubt deters
Doug O’Neill, who trains
Nyquist.
“I’m optimistic we’re
going to win,” he said. “He’s
deinitely shown us that he’s
going to run a big race.”
O’Neill reached the Derby
winner’s circle in 2012 with
I’ll Have Another, who
went on to win the Preak-
ness Stakes. The colt was
scratched the day before the
Belmont Stakes because of a
career-ending tendon injury,
dashing the sport’s hope of a
Triple Crown winner.
“It took a few minutes of
being depressed and feeling
sorry for yourself, but it
quickly jumped into how
amazing it was to win the
Derby and the Preakness,” he
recalled.
O’Neill was dogged by
controversy throughout the
Triple Crown series that year
for past medication viola-
tions. He served a suspension
after the Belmont as punish-
ment for one of his other
Cathryn Sophia wins Kentucky Oaks
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)
— Cathryn Sophia took
charge entering the stretch
and rolled to victory Friday
in the 142nd Kentucky Oaks
Friday at Churchill Downs.
Cathryn Sophia found
her opening at the top of the
stretch, overtook the fading
Lewis Bay and pulled away
to beat Land Over Sea.
It was trainer John
Servis and jockey Javier
Castellano’s irst Oaks win.
horses testing positive for a
higher than allowed limit of
a drug. In 2014, O’Neill was
forced to sit out the Breeders’
Cup world championships
under that event’s “convicted
trainer rule.”
He is eager to put the past
pursuit of his ifth Derby
victory and second in a row.
He won in 1997 and ‘98 with
Silver Charm and Real Quiet.
“I just hope I have a horse
to root for turning for home,”
he said.
Steve Asmussen, Chad
Brown and Todd Pletcher
are taking aim with two
horses each. Asmussen has
Creator and Gun Runner,
both co-third choices at 10-1;
Brown has My Man Sam and
Shagaf, a pair of 20-1 shots;
and Pletcher has Destin and
Outwork, both listed at 15-1.
Exaggerator is the early
8-1 second choice, trained
by Keith Desormeaux and
ridden by his younger brother
Kent.
Trainer Dale Romans,
who is 0-for-6 in his home-
town race, saddles 12-1 shot
Brody’s Cause, saying the
stakes-winning colt has done
everything he needs to make
it to the winner’s circle.
Clearly so has Nyquist.
“Hopefully this year we’ll
have an American Pharoah-
type of journey,” O’Neill
said.
142ND RUNNING OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY
Coming up roses
A year after American Pharoah began his run to horse racing’s
first Triple Crown in 37 years in the Kentucky Derby, here
comes undefeated Nyquist.
Last year’s 2-year-old champion, out of
post 13, has established himself as the
favorite for the Derby, bringing a 7-0 career
record into Churchill Downs.
CHURCHILL DOWNS
Louisville, Ky.
Post time 6:34 p.m. EDT
PP
1
12
2
9
3
8
4
11
5
13
6
6
WINNING
7
8
POST
8
10
POSITIONS
9
4
10
10
1900-2015
11
3
Since 1900, posts
12
3
1 and 5 have produced
13
4 the most Derby winners,
2
14
although no one has
15
5 won from the rail since
16
4
Ferdinand in 1986.
17 0
Four horses have won
18 1
from the No. 13 spot
19 1
since 1900, most recently
2
20
Smarty Jones in 2004.
HOW THE FAVORITES
HAVE FARED 1875-2015
FINISH
1st
39.0
SOURCE: Churchill Downs
Out
of the
2nd 3rd money
7.8
20.6
PERCENT
32.6
THE FIELD
Post position, horse, trainer/jockey and opening odds:
POST
1 Trojan Nation
P. Gallagher/A. Gryder
2 Suddenbreakingnews
D. Von Hemel/L. Quinonez
3 Creator
S. Asmussen/R. Santana, Jr.
4 Mo Tom
T. Amoss/C. Lanerie
5 Gun Runner
S. Asmussen/F. Geroux
6 My Man Sam
C. Brown/I. Ortiz, Jr.
7 Oscar Nominated
M. Maker/J. Leparoux
8 Lani
M. Matsunaga/Y. Take
9 Destin
T. Pletcher/J. Castellano
10 Whitmore
R. Moquett/V. Espinoza
11 Exaggerator
Keith Desormeaux/K. Desormeaux
12 Tom’s Ready
D. Stewart/B. Hernandez, Jr.
13 Nyquist
D. O’Neill/M. Gutierrez
14 Mohaymen
K. McLaughlin/J. Alvarado
15 Outwork
T. Pletcher/J. Velazquez
16 Shagaf
C. Brown/J. Rosario
17 Mor Spirit
B. Baffert/G. Stevens
18 Majesto
G. Delgado/E. Jaramillo
19 Brody’s Cause
D. Romans/L. Saez
20 Danzing Candy
C. Sise, Jr./M. Smith
NOTE: Shown are post numbers. Program numbers
may not be the same if horses are scratched.
50-1
20-1
10-1
20-1
10-1
20-1
50-1
30-1
15-1
20-1
8-1
30-1
3-1
10-1
15-1
20-1
12-1
30-1
12-1
15-1
AP
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah thriving in new home
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT
AP Racing Writer
VERSAILLES, Ky. — Amer-
ican Pharoah is led out of his stone
palace of a barn, head up, eyes
alert, a little heavier these days
but still pretty well sculpted. In a
few minutes, the champion will be
walked over to the breeding shed,
a mere 50 yards away. By now,
the Triple Crown winner has the
routine down pat.
No more early morning workouts
under the watchful eyes of trainer
Bob Baffert. No Victor Espinoza
asking the big bay for every ounce
of energy over 11 grueling races in
17 months. No more huge media
crowds around him, or cameras
clicking away at his every move.
No more parades at Churchill
Downs or Santa Anita Park.
Welcome to paradise, also
known as Coolmore Ashford Stud,
a magniicent 2,000 acre empire
in the heart of Bluegrass country.
This is home to racing’s irst Triple
Crown winner in 37 years, a luxu-
rious resort for the irst horse to win
the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and
Belmont Stakes since Afirmed in
1978, and just the 12th in history.
Nyquist trainer Doug O’Neill
is well aware that more fans are
paying attention.
“They now have heard a lot
about horse racing in the last year,
year and a half and that’s a credit to
Pharoah,” he said, “and hopefully
Nyquist can carry the torch farther.”
At Ashford, mares are carrying
the torch for American Pharoah.
Two days after winning the
Breeders’ Cup Classic in his inal
race at nearby Keeneland on Nov. 1,
he arrived at his new home to much
fanfare. When the breeding season
started in mid-February, Pharoah
was ready, willing and able. Since
then, he’s covered about 100 mares,
and could double that amount by
AP Photo/Dylan Lovan
In this photo taken April 21 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah stands with a handler at Coolmore’s
Ashford Stud farm in Versailles, Ky.
the end of the season in June. He
commands a stud fee of $200,000.
One thing hasn’t changed.
“He’s still as sweet and cuddly
as he’s always been,” owner Ahmed
Zayat said after a recent visit with
American Pharoah. “He has taken
to his new role like he did to the
racetrack.”
Here’s a look at what’s up with
American Pharoah:
BABY BOOM
Breeding sessions are scheduled
in the morning, afternoon and
evening. There are 14 stallions at
Ashford — 13 active, plus Thunder
Gulch — and American Pharoah
has shown he’s a quick learner.
“He’s a pro in the breeding
shed,” stallion manager Richard
Barry said. “Everything has gone
smoothly.”
His irst date was Untouched
Talent, a broodmare who produced
Bodemeister, a Zayat-owned horse
who inished second in the 2012
Derby. She is expected to deliver
Pharoah’s irst foal sometime in
January.
Zayat has seen the breeding
process.
“He’s a champ, so nice. The girls
love him,” Zayat said. “He’s as
fertile as you can get at this point.
Up to now, we’ve bred nine and
they are all in foal, all pregnant.
He’s enjoying life. His condition is
unreal and his coat shines.”
If American Pharoah covers
175 mares in his irst season — at
$200,000 each — he would bring
in $35 million for Coolmore, which
bought breeding rights from Zayat
last year. In his racing career,
Pharoah earned $8.6 million.
DAILY ROUTINE
When he irst arrived at Ashford,
American Pharoah was given a
camp buddy, 1995 Derby winner
Thunder Gulch. The thinking was
an older, more experienced stallion
would show the new kid the ropes
of retirement. A little over ive
months later, “he’s just one of the
boys now,” said Barry, “and has
settled in to the same routine as all
the other stallions.
“Thunder Gulch was an
important part of that process and
helped American Pharoah to settle
but now that he has got the hang of
everything Thunder Gulch’s work
is done,” he added.
Currently, American Pharoah
shares the same barn as Munnings,
Giant’s Causeway, Competitive
Edge and Verrazano. It’s the closest
barn to the breeding shed.
As for his daily routine, it’s
not complicated. Breeding in
the morning, out in the paddock
afterward, then lunch. Back to the
breeding shed, to the paddock,
dinner, and then they are bedded
down for the night. However, if a
horse is “particularly busy,” Barry
said, there’s an evening breeding
session.
“Horses are creatures of habit
and like a routine,” Barry explained.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW
Zayat has been back and forth to
Churchill Downs in the past week,
but won’t be at the Derby. He says
he’ll be home in New Jersey with
his family. He was in Louisville
to celebrate the opening of the
American Pharoah exhibit at the
Kentucky Derby Museum.
Baffert is in the thick of the
Derby again with Mor Spirit. The
four-time Derby winner is far from
the center of attention, but he’s been
signing autographs all week on the
backstretch. He and his wife, Jill,
and their son Bode visited Pharoah
this week, and also showed up at the
Derby museum.
Espinoza, meanwhile, picked up
the ride aboard Whitmore for the
Derby. He had not ridden in many
Derby prep races, but was a last-
minute replacement for Irad Ortiz,
Jr., who will be riding My Man
Sam. He, too, visited American
Pharoah this week.