No Exaggeration, This Colt Was Spectacular

No matter what happened Saturday, Nyquist (Uncle Mo) was going to be the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby, the horse to beat. The theme of yesterday's trio of Grade I Derby preps was who would step up, do something special, maybe even something so special that they emerged from the afternoon looking like a viable threat to beat the undefeated champion four weeks later at Churchill Downs. Shagaf (Bernardini)? Mor Sprit (Eskendereya)? Zulu (Bernardini)? Someone else?

Heading into the GI Santa Anita Derby, it looked like the answer might actually be no one.

Yes, Outwork (Uncle Mo) was a great story for owner Mike Repole in the GI Wood Memorial S. Five years earlier, he suffered one of the most humbling days anyone has experienced on a racetrack when his Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) was defeated in the Wood, finishing third at odds of 1-10. Not only did Repole wash the bad taste out of his mouth, he did so with a son of Uncle Mo in Outwork. But the knock on Outwork is obvious–he was hard pressed to beat a maiden in Trojan Nation (Street Cry {Ire}).

The racing world then turned the page to the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, where 14 horses, none of them considered top Derby contenders coming in, lined up. The day belonged to the enigmatic Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway), who rushed down the stretch before pulling clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths, but this is the same Brody's Cause who didn't run a step in the GII Tampa Bay Derby and whose performance was so lackluster that day that jockey Corey Lanerie apparently opted off to ride stablemate Cherry Wine (Paddy o'Prado). Luis Saez took his place. Brody's Cause is now a two-time Grade I winner and has class and ability, but which Brody's Cause will show up on Derby Day? He's good. He's not reliable.

The Wood and the Blue Grass also did their part to knock some highly regarded horses out of the Derby, or at least expose them as colts who are not serious contenders for America's most famous horse race. Zulu was 12th in the Blue Grass. He and Mohaymen (Tapit) have now come out of the GII Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth S. only to run well below expectations, making you wonder how good that race was in the first place. Shagaf was fifth in the Wood, on this day proving right the speed figure experts who said he simply wasn't very fast.

In between the Blue Grass and the Santa Anita Derby, we were indeed treated to an exceptional performance, it just happened to be from a filly. Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) was once again so good in the GI Santa Anita Oaks S. that it is not over-the-top to suggest that she's one of the best fillies who ever lived. As we've known for quite some time though, she'll be resting in her stall Kentucky Derby day while owner Rick Porter will be counting his money from her win in the GI Kentucky Oaks from the day before.

Three-quarters into the portion of the afternoon that included the big 3-year-old races, we were more or less still looking for someone to save the day. And along came Exaggerator (Curlin).

It was perfectly fair to label him an underachiever going into the race. You knew this horse had a lot of talent, but the results just weren't there. Yes, he had won the GII Saratoga Special S. and the GIII Delta Jackpot S., but he just couldn't get the job done on the bigger stages. He ran well in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile S., but was fourth. He ran well in the GII San Vicente S., but was second. He ran well in the GII San Felipe S., but ran out of gas in the final 50 yards and was third.

Finally, something clicked. He made the same move in the Santa Anita Derby that he had made in the San Felipe, but this time, he kept right on going, going so fast that he ran right past Mor Sprit, right past Danzing Candy (Twirling Candy) and right into Santa Anita Derby annals as one of the most impressive winners of that race in its 81-year history. He beat a really good horse in Mor Sprit by 6 1/4 lengths.

“He finished like a monster,” jockey Kent Desormeaux said.

The good news for Nyquist is that he has already beaten Exaggerator three times–in a June 5 maiden at Santa Anita and in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and San Vicente–but he may not have beaten the Exaggerator who was so dominant yesterday at Santa Anita, the Exaggerator who seemed to figure out that when he wants to be, he can be a really good horse.

Watch out, Nyquist.