Big three have Desormeaux expecting another great year

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Keith Desormeaux has big hopes for 2016. It is the only way to go forward. The events of the last two years command high expectations.

Desormeaux won the first Grade 1 race and the first seven-figure race of his career when Texas Red won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita in 2014. Last year, his stable had record single-season earnings of $3,834,257, ranking 34th in the nation.

Three of the principal runners from 2015 – Exaggerator, Swipe, and Texas Red – are the core of what could be another milestone season this year.

“I feel excited,” Desormeaux said on Sunday. “It was a big season last year.”

First up among the trio will be Exaggerator in the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs next Monday. Exaggerator has not raced since winning the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot last November.

“He’s training awesome,” Desormeaux said.

Exaggerator needs to be that good to be a factor in the Grade 2 San Vicente. The race is scheduled to be the first start of the year for Nyquist, the undefeated champion 2-year-old male of 2015.

Texas Red battled injuries last year but is in training at Santa Anita for an expected return in the spring. Texas Red missed the 2015 Triple Crown but did win the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga last August before finishing fifth in the $1.6 million Travers Stakes later that month in his final start of the year.

Texas Red, who spent part of the autumn resting on a Kentucky farm, has won 3 of 9 starts and $1,767,300. Desormeaux firmly believes the colt can pad that record this year.

“He’s matured greatly,” he said. “He’s still growing, and he’s put on a lot of weight. He’s more assured of himself. He seems like he’s more levelheaded.”

Texas Red could play a key role in California’s older horse division this year. The Breeders’ Cup Classic will be run here in November and is a race Desormeaux wants to target.

“Hopefully, he’ll have a strong end to the year,” he said. “We have the Breeders’ Cup here. I’d love for him to culminate his season with a big race.”

Swipe is in a more difficult situation in the immediate future. He was second to Nyquist in four consecutive races last year – the Best Pal Stakes, Del Mar Futurity, FrontRunner Stakes, and BC Juvenile – before undergoing surgery to have a bone chip removed from an ankle in early November.

Swipe is back in training at Santa Anita, but being ready for the Triple Crown might be difficult, Desormeaux said. Swipe could have a prep race in April. The colt is on a tight schedule.

“We’ve got two months,” Desormeaux said. “We’ll look for something at the first of April. The Derby is not the end-all. We know we’ve got a nice horse.”

Desormeaux’s prospects are not limited to males. He trains Not Now Carolyn, who beat maiden 3-year-old fillies at a mile Jan. 26 in her first start since being privately acquired by a partnership. The win has led Desormeaux to tentatively plan a start for her in the $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 5.

“We’re excited about her,” he said.

Desormeaux, 49, ranked sixth in the nation in earnings by 2-year-olds in 2015, with $2,527,196. He trailed Todd Pletcher, Doug O’Neill, Mark Casse, Steve Asmussen, and Jerry Hollendorfer in that category. Those trainers each had more than 100 2-year-old starters and won at least 20 races. Desormeaux had 12 wins from 83 2-year-old starters.

“There were some pretty big names above us,” he said.

Desormeaux had approximately 15 2-year-olds in 2015 and expects about that many this year. Whether there is a runner as successful as Exaggerator or Swipe will dictate how far the stable’s 2-year-old division goes this year.

Desormeaux is hoping the juveniles and the established 3- and 4-year-olds can propel his stable to even greater heights this year.

“We had an awesome year last year,” he said. “The idea is to keep it going.”