Onward and upward: Champion Nyquist carries heavy mantle on Kentucky Derby trail

The very essence of Thoroughbred racing is all about moving forward.

The sport allows for little time to dwell, whether crushing pitfalls or game-changing highs. There is no offseason, no end to the cycle of horseflesh demanding individual attention. The question of ‘What’s next?’ is often fired off before a cleansing breath can be drawn.

Still, there are those rare times when an entity ignites the industry and then lingers like dense smoke. The crop of Thoroughbreds born in 2013 are blissfully unaware they are in such a fallout, that the name of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah has and will continue to be invoked in the run-up to and throughout this year’s American classics.

Trainer Doug O’Neill knows all about turning the page. Four years ago, he had Paul Reddam’s I’ll Have Another on the cusp of history, having conditioned the son of Flower Alley to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes only to have that one retired with a career-ending injury the day before the Belmont Stakes.

He was a few good days away from being the one who ended the longest drought between Triple Crown winners. He now hopes to be at the forefront of the collective moving-on process.

O’Neill’s ability to get a young horse right for the classics has again become a talking point as he trains unbeaten juvenile champion Nyquist, the Reddam-owned colt who is set to make his season debut in Monday’s Grade II San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

Were this most seasons, having a 3-year-old with a 5-for-5 record and three Grade I wins, including an adversity-overcoming triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, would be the sort of thing that automatically earns winter-book favoritism when looking ahead to the first Saturday in May.

Be it the hangover from American Pharoah’s Triple Crown or general skepticism regarding his speed figures, Nyquist isn’t even the leader in the clubhouse right now when it comes to early-season buzz.

Champion filly Songbird is being hailed by many as the best sophomore runner of either gender, though her connections have repeatedly stated that the Kentucky Oaks, not the Derby, is their target. And after Mohaymen’s facile win in his season debut in the Grade II Holy Bull Stakes on Jan. 30, Shadwell Stable’s unbeaten multiple graded stakes winner has been praised for having all the tools to separate himself from his peers.

O’Neill’s attitude is such that he still good-naturedly contextualizes the heartache of I’ll Have Another’s injury as “if that’s the worst thing that happens to me the rest of my life, I’m in good shape.” He doesn’t need pundits falling at his horse’s feet — not as long his charge keeps moving his feet forward.

“It does seem like he hasn’t gotten the press or credit he deserves. But at the same time, you win the Eclipse Award, that is a lot of credit,” O’Neill said of Nyquist. “I kind of like it selfishly, I love having the champ in the locker room and people are over at someone else’s locker talking to them. I’m OK with it, and even though this horse seems to thrive under pressure, less is good right now.

“Hopefully, as his campaign gets started, there will be more attention on him. But we’re very happy with where we are right now.”

There is nothing not to be pleased with when looking at Nyquist’s body of work.

Where I’ll Have Another didn’t come into his own until his 3-year-old season, Nyquist had excitement around him from the time Dennis O’Neill — Doug O’Neill’s brother and bloodstock guru — went to $400,000 to purchase the son of Uncle Mo on behalf of Reddam at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-year-old Sale.

Uncle Mo himself was a brilliant 2-year-old and Nyquist showed early on that he was his father’s son. A 5¼-length win in the Grade II Best Pal Stakes last August was followed by victories in the Grade I Del Mar Futurity and Grade I FrontRunner, the latter of which saw the bay colt resolutely fight off rival Swipe in a stretch battle.

Three furlongs into the 1 1/16 -mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland, however, O’Neill began consoling himself for what he thought would be Nyquist’s first career loss. After getting bumped at the start, shuffled back to eighth and racing wide throughout, Nyquist could have folded up the way some young horses do. Instead, he got a no-panic ride from jockey Mario Gutierrez — who also rode I’ll Have Another — took command in the stretch and held off Swipe yet again to end all questions about who would succeed American Pharoah as the next juvenile champion.

“I think probably the two best attributes that Nyquist has is he’s mentally tough and he’s just very athletic,” Doug O’Neill said. “He does things very naturally and he’s super competitive. He wouldn’t be undefeated if he weren’t super competitive.

“And it just shows how much stamina Nyquist has to have that kind of trip (in the Breeders’ Cup) and lose that much ground, and finish up as strong as he did. I think ... probably about 3 furlongs into the race we were all thinking ‘Well, he’s had a hell of a year, so things happen.’ For him to overcome all that just stamped how blessed we are to have that champion.”

Ironically, stamina is one of the intangibles most coming under fire with Nyquist. Uncle Mo was haunted with the same concerns coming off his championship campaign in 2010 and having Grade I-winning sprinter Forestry as his dam’s sire further fuels those who simply don’t see Nyquist getting 10 furlongs successfully.

He is slated to have only one two-turn prep race leading into the Kentucky Derby with the Grade I Florida Derby on April 2 being penciled in should all go well in the 7-furlong San Vicente. O’Neill counters that he likes the foundation a 7-furlong race can put into a horse coming off a freshening, specifically that they can break and settle in a sprint instead of forcing them to come off the bridle early in a two-turn race.

Given they have the same connections, Nyquist has already been compared to I’ll Have Another many times. And he and the rest of his 3-year-old brethren are likely in for a long season of being held up against the crop that came before.

What can’t be argued at this point is Nyquist’s ability to stand on his own merit.

“Obviously there are a bunch of us this year thinking we can be the next American Pharoah and I’m no different,” O’Neill said. “I’m hoping that Nyquist could do something like that.”

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Onward and upward: Champion Nyquist carries heavy mantle on Kentucky Derby trail."