Things have been somewhat quiet around Kentucky Derby favorite Nyquist since he won the Florida Derby and established himself as ‘the three year old to beat’. Since proving his superiority (for now at least) over Mohaymen the undefeated son of Uncle Mo has been getting ready to run the biggest race of his life.
Things haven’t been going quite as well this Spring for the gentleman that Nyquist is named after–Gustav Nyquist of the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning and are now done for the year. Nyquist is the latest in a long series of hockey themed names from owner by J. Paul Reddam of Windsor, Ontario. He’s a big Detroit Red Wings fan and currently owns horses named after (Gustav) Nyquist’s teammates Tomas Tatar, Petr Mrazek and Niklas Kronwall. He’s previously owned horses named after Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.
Nyquist (the horse) is scheduled to have his first timed workout since arriving at Keeneland tomorrow. It was originally set for today but pushed back a day. Nyquist is reportedly back in good form after taking a few days off from training. He arrived in Kentucky from Florida’s Gulfstream Park and was diagnosed with a high white cell count. A few days of rest took care of that problem and he’s since been galloping every morning. Assistant trainer Jack Sisterson is happy with his progress: “Jonny (exercise rider Jonny Garcia) said he went really good, so we’re happy. That’s the main thing. Jonny continues to say he feels good; that’s all we could ask for. He knows him better than anyone. The report to Doug will be, ‘Everything’s good.’ Jogging him with the pony, he’s just full of energy.”
Nyquist is the 4/1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby futures odds at Wynn Las Vegas. Exaggerator, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, is now the second choice among bettors at 9/1. Mohaymen has been relegated to third choice at 10/1 following his fourth place finish in the Florida Derby. The Kentucky Derby is set for May 7th at Louisville, Kentucky’s iconic Churchill Downs race track.