When Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator turned the tables on Nyquist in last Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, it meant that for the first time under the current management team at the New York Racing Association, the Belmont Stakes will be run without a Triple Crown on the line.
Less than 48 hours after the second jewel in the Triple Crown was run in the Pimlico mud, a trio of Churchill-based 3-year-olds who could run in the third jewel were out for serious work early Monday over a fast track.
The morning after the Preakness Stakes, trainer Keith Desormeaux needed to look no further than Exaggerator's pedigree line to express his confidence about the upcoming Belmont Stakes.
After splitting the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Exaggerator and Nyquist are still pointing to the Belmont Stakes on June 11, but the status of Nyquist became a bit uncertain on Monday when trainer Doug O'Neill revealed that the horse had a high temperature, necessitating a delay in his shipping from Pimlico to Belmont Park.
Trainer Doug O’Neill was heading back to Southern California on Sunday morning, but a small contingent of his stable - led by Kentucky Derby winner and beaten Preakness favorite Nyquist - were heading to New York on Monday.
Exaggerator and Nyquist, winners of the first two legs of the Triple Crown, both emerged from the Preakness Stakes on Saturday in good order and are set to meet again in the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, on June 11, their trainers said Sunday morning.
The $500,000-guaranteed pick four on the Preakness undercard Saturday at Pimlico offers a little bit of everything, from superstars to blue-collar allowance runners. Take everything I’ve written with a grain of salt simply because the weather forecast calls for legitimate rain in the Baltimore area, and it would seem as though the turf events could be in danger of coming off the grass.
Having passed his distance exam Saturday at Belmont Park, Unified will likely be tested around two turns for his next start, though the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 11 is not likely to be that spot, trainer Jimmy Jerkens said Sunday morning.
Unified did what he was expected to do Saturday - win the Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park. The question now is did he do enough to convince his connections to take a swing in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes in four weeks?
Destin, the Tampa Bay Derby winner who finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby, will be pointed to the Belmont Stakes on June 11, trainer Todd Pletcher said Friday.
