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Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist pulls out of Belmont

By Robert Kieckhefer, UPI Racing Writer
Nyquist, ridden by Mario Gutierrez, leads Exaggerator, Kent Desormeaux up, to win the 142nd Kentucky Derby on May 7. File photo by Mark Abraham/UPI
Nyquist, ridden by Mario Gutierrez, leads Exaggerator, Kent Desormeaux up, to win the 142nd Kentucky Derby on May 7. File photo by Mark Abraham/UPI | License Photo

Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist Tuesday was ruled out of a Belmont Stakes rematch with Preakness winner Exaggerator.

Assistant trainer Jack Sisterton said the Uncle Mo colt's blood work returned with a "slightly elevated" white cell count and he had a temperature for the second straight day. Trainer Doug O'Neill decided the best course for Nyquist is to let him recover at Pimlico, then return to California.

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"Nyquist will tell us when he's ready. The plan is to get him back to California, get him fit and healthy and point for some fun in June and at Saratoga with him," Sisterton said.

Nyquist defeated Exaggerator the first four times they met, including the Kentucky Derby. But Exaggerator turned the tables in the Preakness and racing fans were looking forward to a rematch in the June 11 Belmont Stakes.

Despite his third-place finish in the Preakness, Nyquist continues to top polls of top U.S. 3-year-olds in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

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