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 colt had a high temperature, necessitating a delay in his shipping from Pimlico to Belmont Park. According to O’Neill, Nyquist had a temperature of “102 and change” on Monday, about two degrees above normal. He was not coughing but did leave some grain, O’Neill said. Blood work was done, and the results “will tell us a lot,” O’Neill said. “Sometimes this takes a couple of days, sometimes longer,” O’Neill said. He said if Nyquist recovers quickly, “we’ll have no problem making the Belmont.” Nyquist – who won the Kentucky Derby and then on Saturday was third in the Preakness – was originally scheduled to be sent by van to Belmont Park on Monday. O’Neill said Nyquist now would not travel until Wednesday “at the earliest.” Nyquist had a similar temperature spike when he first arrived at Keeneland right after winning the Florida Derby. He had nearly five weeks at that time until the Kentucky Derby. The Belmont is three weeks after the Preakness. Exaggerator, who was second to Nyquist in the Derby, won the Preakness, the first time he had defeated Nyquist in five meetings. He received a Beyer Speed Figure of 101. Keith Desormeaux, who trains Exaggerator, said the horse would remain at Pimlico until Sunday before heading to Belmont Park. Desormeaux said he felt “the same” as he did before the race. “I was overwhelmed even before I won with being given the chance to compete at this level, so to win is icing on the cake,” said Desormeaux, who won the race in concert with his brother, jockey Kent Desormeaux. When Keith Desormeaux and Julie Clark, his girlfriend and assistant trainer, arrived at the barn Sunday morning, Jack Sisterson and Leandro Mora, the top assistants to O’Neill, rushed over to congratulate them. “It’s a little tough beating Nyquist. He has so many fans behind him,” Clark said. “And they’ve been so gracious. I think all of us being from California, that connection helps.” Sisterson and Mora were in good spirits Sunday morning despite Nyquist suffering the first loss of his career when finishing third after being part of a hot early pace under jockey Mario Gutierrez. The opening quarter-mile of 22.38 seconds was the fastest in Preakness history. “The pace killed us, but that’s horse racing,” Mora said. “If he’d have gone 24, maybe there would have been more in the tank. “It’s hard to say we ‘lost the second jewel,’ ” Mora added. “We’re enjoying the ride. You’re not going to see sad faces here. There’s a good rivalry between the two.” Cherry Wine, who finished fast for second in the Preakness, and Lani, who was fifth, also are expected to run in the Belmont. Stradivari, who finished fourth, is possible. Exaggerator, Nyquist, and Lani are the only horses who ran in both the Derby and Preakness. Dale Romans, who trains Cherry Wine, said the horse would return to Churchill Downs on Monday, but – assuming Cherry Wine bounces back well from the Preakness – Romans expected to head to Belmont Park in time to give him a workout over the track prior to the Belmont Stakes. “If he’d have beat one more horse, I would have cashed a big ticket,” said Romans, who had a profitable visit to Pimlico, finishing one-two on Friday in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for fillies. Romans said Cherry Wine “hasn’t peaked yet” and said he thought the hot early pace benefited Cherry Wine. “It was hard on those horses,” he said, referring to the front-runners. “Nyquist dug in there. He was game all the way.” Romans said he also planned on running Grade 1 winner Brody’s Cause in the Belmont. Brody’s Cause was seventh in the Kentucky Derby but then bypassed the Preakness. Others under consideration for the Belmont who ran in the Derby and skipped the Preakness include Suddenbreakingnews (fifth in the Derby), Destin (sixth), Mo Tom (eighth), and Creator (13th). Governor Malibu, the Peter Pan Stakes runner-up, is another possibility. Both Uncle Lino, who finished seventh in the Preakness, and Collected, who was 10th, flew back to California early Sunday morning and are off the Triple Crown trail. – additional reporting by David Grening