Nyquist stays perfect in winning Kentucky Derby

Nyquist is still undefeated, and talk of a second consecutive Triple Crown will surely begin after his decisive victory in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

He had done no wrong heading into Saturday, but Nyquist was still dogged by questions of whether he could make the Derby’s 1 1/4-mile distance and if he might get caught in a speed duel in the opening stages of the race.

Neither was a problem for the son of Uncle Mo.

Nyquist, perfectly placed by jockey Mario Gutierrez, settled in second place behind pace-setter Danzing Candy, who set blistering fractions of :22.58 and :45.72 before ultimately fading and finishing 15^th.

Heading into the stretch, Nyquist took over in the middle of the track while Louisiana Derby winner Gun Runner kept plugging away at the rail. Exaggerator, the Santa Anita Derby winner and second-betting choice, made a late run from the back of the pack but came up short in the end under jockey Kent Desormeaux.

Nyquist, the 2-1 favorite, held off Exaggerator to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Gun Runner just held on for third, another 3 ¼ lengths back. Mohaymen was fourth, and Suddenbreakingnews made a late move to finish fifth.

Trained by Doug O’Neill, Nyquist improved to 8-for-8 for his career and will be a heavy favorite in the Preakness Stakes two weeks from now. He is only the eighth undefeated Kentucky Derby winner and the second Derby winner for both O’Neill and Gutierrez, who teamed up with I’ll Have Another in 2011.

I’ll Have Another also won the Preakness that year but did not get a chance to win the Triple Crown after scratching out of the Belmont Stakes with an injury. American Pharoah won the Triple Crown last year for trainer Bob Baffert, and Nyquist could give O’Neill another chance after missing out five years ago.

“It would be nice,” O’Neill said. “Seeing it happen last year shows it can happen with a special horse. … This horse is such a special horse, and he shows it every day. The fact that he’s undefeated tells you a lot.”

The winning time was 2:01.31 in front of a crowd of 167,227, the second-highest total in Derby history behind only last year’s total of 170,513.

Nyquist paid $6.60, $4.80 and $3.60.

The final order of finish was: Nyquist, Exaggerator, Gun Runner, Mohaymen, Suddenbreakingnews, Destin, Brody’s Cause, Mo Tom, Lani, Mor Spirit, My Man Sam, Tom’s Ready, Creator, Outwork, Danzing Candy, Trojan Nation, Oscar Nominated, Majesto and Whitmore. Shagaf did not finish the race.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Nyquist stays perfect in winning Kentucky Derby."