Nyquist topples Mohaymen in Florida Derby showdown

The pressure kept threatening to undo Nyquist on Saturday.

From longshot challengers vainly attempting to test his mettle to the rival many thought would ultimately prove himself superior, they all took their best shots at the reigning juvenile champion during what was supposed to be the most daunting race of his unblemished career. And when the 65th running of the Grade I, $1 million Florida Derby reached the far turn of its 1  1/8-miles journey, the showdown looked, for a handful of strides, like it was going to be all that it was billed.

But Nyquist has become a master at turning criticisms into moot points. As his top rival Mohaymen began flailing at the top of stretch, unresponsive to his jockey’s desperate urging, Nyquist stuck to his usual winning script.

The supposed heavyweight showdown between the two unbeaten leaders of the 3-year-old male division ended with a decision that was shockingly lopsided. Paul Reddam’s Nyquist will head into the Kentucky Derby with his brilliant record intact after knocking out a gate-to-wire, 3 ¼-length win in the Florida Derby over a rain-saturated Gulfstream Park.

Race favorite Mohaymen struggled home fourth for his first career loss.

There are Grade I wins, and then there are top-level victories that carry far more weight. From a monetary standpoint, the son of Uncle Mo collected the $1 million bonus he was eligible for as a graduate of the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Select 2-year-olds-in-training sale.

His $1.6 million payday pales in terms of the respect he will now hold in the five-week march toward the first Saturday in May. Despite his six prior victories that included an adversity-defying win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last October, the knocks on Nyquist were that his pedigree wouldn’t let him last over longer distances and that his one seven-furlong race this year — the Grade II San Vicente — would leave him at the mercy of Mohaymen, who had won his first two outings in 2016, at Gulfstream, without drawing deep breath.

“He just continues to excite us with his specialness,” said Nyquist’s trainer Doug O’Neill, who also conditioned 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner I’ll Have Another. “He was on unsure footing and he left there good and all the sudden he got pushed (on the front end). He’s a special horse.

“I think we enjoyed being the underdog and enjoyed being under the radar, flying under the radar. We all kept saying, ‘We just want to keep flying.’ Who cares what people are saying. He ran this afternoon like he’s been showing us in the morning, but you never know until they do it.”

Both Mohaymen and Nyquist faced racing over a wet track for the first times in their careers. As the duo and the rest of the 10-horse field reached the backstretch, it was becoming clear that Nyquist was having the easier time getting into his usual rhythm.

Nyquist used his early speed to his advantage out of post No. 4 as he got the front end just off the rail under jockey Mario Gutierrez with 124-to-1 shot Sawyers Mickey to his inside and 136-to-1 shot Chovanes on his outside hip through an opening half-mile in 47.09. Mohaymen, meanwhile, was tracking along on the outside in fourth but was already giving off signs that he was about to have a bad day.

“He’s a horse that all the time drags me and jumps in the bridle right away,” said Junior Alvarado, jockey of Mohaymen. “This time he wasn’t pulling me. It got me a little worried. I tried to stay with him and give him a chance to get it all together.”

Added trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, “He was pretty wide throughout but the track is wet and we wanted to stay in the clear. We'll regroup.”

Still, there was the flutter of the battle royale coming to fruition around the far turn as Mohaymen did make a rally to pull himself alongside the bay colt that was holding his ground down the middle of the track. As Alvarado began going to the stick with no response, Gutierrez shook the reins to signal the afterburners as Nyquist drew off in the stretch despite bearing out down the lane en route to hitting the wire in 1:49.11 over a track rated good.

“He can do it all,” Gutierrez said. “If you watch his races, he can go to the lead, he can rate as well. In my mind, he’s a good horse and the distance doesn’t bother him; but I guess his pedigree says so, according to the media. He keeps proving people wrong.”

Majesto, sent off at 21-to-1 odds, came up for second with Fellowship making a monster run at the end to get up for third.

The aftermath was as stark in its contrast as the result. As McLaughlin somberly stood in the tunnel waiting to hear Alvarado’s insight into why the Holy Bull and Fountain of Youth Stakes winner looked nothing like his old self, Team O’Neill wore the broad smiles of vindication.

“Going 1  1/8-miles only his second time out as a 3-year-old, we’d be lying if we all didn’t say we were optimistic but you never know,” O’Neill said. “He exceeded our expectations for sure.”

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 10:07 PM with the headline "Nyquist topples Mohaymen in Florida Derby showdown."