Nyquist breezes half-mile in return to worktab
At his home base of Santa Anita Friday morning, Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist had his first workout since returning last Sunday from Baltimore where the son of Uncle Mo, trained by Doug O'Neill for Paul and Zillah Reddam, suffered his lone defeat after eight straight victories, finishing third in the Preakness (G1).
At the convenient time of 7:11 a.m. (PDT) in ideal conditions under exercise rider Jonny Garcia, Nyquist worked four furlongs in :48.60, breezing, according to Santa Anita clockers, who caught him in :24.60 for the first quarter, with a five furlong gallop out of 1:02 flat.
"It was kind of a medium gallop out, kind of a two-minute lick gallop out," O'Neill said. "I got him in 48 and two (fifths). I'm very happy right now, but a lot will depend on how he cools out and what Jonny says. He looked good to me.
"I think it was a good first step back. I was very happy."
Nyquist, champion two-year-old male of 2015, missed the Belmont S. (G1) due to an elevated white blood cell count that surfaced after the Preakness.
(Cecilia Gustavson/Horsephotos.com)
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