By Bill Finley
Despite three straight losses, including a sixth-place finish in the GII Pennsylvania Derby, it appears that Nyquist (Uncle Mo) remains on schedule for the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
“The horse is back here at Santa Anita, he tracked here today and looked great,” trainer Doug O'Neill said. “No firm decision as far as what is next has been made, but, from my standpoint, he looks super and came out of the Pennsylvania Derby in great shape. In my mind, yes, the Breeders' Cup is a strong possibility, but it will be up the higher powers. I know [owner] Paul Reddam is on board. There is a breeding deal with Darley, so there is a matter of getting everybody on same page. I'm not sure if they have talked it over or not.”
Nyquist won the GI Kentucky Derby to remain undefeated at 8-for-8, but has not won since. He was third in the GI Preakness S. and fourth in the GI betfair.com Haskell Invitational S. In both of those races, the pace scenario worked against him and may have compromised his chances, but he had no such problems in the Pennsylvania Derby.
“I don't think I had him completely cranked [for the Pennsylvania Derby],” O'Neill said. “I thought I had him super live and [jockey] Mario [Gutierrez] said he loved where he was. He called on him, made a good move, but Mario said he fought with the track a little bit. I hate using that excuse, so I'm going to think he needed the race.”
Nyquist is 3-for-3 at Santa Anita, which O'Neill believes will be a plus for the Breeders' Cup. He has also switched him back to the Arcadia, California track after preparing him for the Pennsylvania Derby at San Luis Rey Downs.
“He's doing super and San Luis Rey served its purpose,” the trainer said. “We were looking for a quiet place to let him fill out, which he did. Now with the Breeders' Cup being here at Santa Anita, it's a logical move to train where the race will be.”
O'Neill added that he was encouraged by the fact that California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) finished sixth in the 2014 Pennsylvania Derby before coming back to run third in the Breeders' Cup Classic, losing by just a neck.
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