AFTER sustaining an injury in an Oct. 27 workout preparatory to the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup (BC) Classic (Gr. 1), 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist has been retired to stud.
According to reports on Bloodhorse.com, the 3YO son of Uncle Mo – Gabrielle by Forestry suffered a “puffy ankle” while chasing down front-running stable mate Ralis (competing in the BC Turf) to clock a seven-furlong (1,400 meters) work time of 1:27 2/5.
The injury led owner Reddam Racing to decide in favor of retiring Nyquist to stud at Darley in Lexington starting 2017.
A press statement released by trainer Doug O’Neill clarifies that while Nyquist is “100 percent sound and his x-rays are clean,” the timing of the injury so close to race day was an unfortunate occurrence that “precludes us from the dream of having him run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in our own backyard.”
The announcement of the retirement, posted on Oct. 31, was immediately followed by the addition of Nyquist to Bloodhorse’s Stallion Registry. His stallion fee is set at $40,000. At Darley, Nyquist joins eminent sires Animal Kingdom (winner of the KY Derby and Dubai World Cup, stud fee $30,000), Medaglia d’Oro (sire of the great Rachel Alexandra and the undefeated 2YO Songbird, stud fee $150,000), and Street Sense (winner of the BC Juvenile and KY Derby, stud fee $45,000).
Reddam had already been planning to retire Nyquist at the end of his career, whenever that would be, so this just comes earlier than anticipated. Although Nyquist’s fans are disappointed that he will not be competing in the Classic, his retirement probably comes at as good a time as any considering that he had a miserable campaign this year, failing to win any races after his victory in the KY Derby.
Moreover, running him with an injury, however slight, would have compromised his soundness and opened him to severe harm, as well as cheated his supporters out of the best chances of winning. Nyquist gave his all in every race and his rest is well-deserved.
Happy retirement, Nyquist! We look forward to your babies in the next few years!
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With Nyquist out of the $6 million BC Classic, 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome’s chances look better than ever.
So far undefeated this year, counting among his victories the Dubai World Cup (UAE-1) and the TVG Pacific Classic (Gr. 1), California Chrome is doing better this year than last. Among the rivals he’ll be facing on Saturday at Santa Anita Park are Arrogate and Frosted.
Arrogate set a record at Saratoga Race Course in the Travers Stakes (Gr. 1), clocking 1:59.36 over 1-1/4 miles (2,000 meters) and winning by 13-1/2 lengths. Godolphin Racing’s Frosted bagged the Whitney Stakes (Gr. 1) by two lengths and the Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Handicap (Gr. 1) by an impressive 14-1/4 lengths.
In the Las Vegas BC Dirt Mile (Nov. 4), Runhappy and Dortmund are expected to slug it out between them, while best friends Tepin and Miss Temple City will face off in the BC Mile (Nov. 5).
Tepin (Bernstein–Life Happened), is one of the best race mares running today. Her lineage is stellar, having as her grandsire Storm Cat and her damsire Stravinsky. She made up for a lackluster 3YO year with a shining 4YO season last year, winning the BC Mile over male rivals and copping the American Champion Female Turf Horse title.
All in all, expect these races and the rest in the BC event to be hotly contested by the best Thoroughbreds in the world.
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Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Follow her on Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember.