Preakness notebook: Undefeated Nyquist primed for history

Undefeated Nyquist had a smooth final workout at Pimlico Race Course on Friday in preparation for Saturday's 141st Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

Trainer Doug O'Neill had no concerns about Nyquist, the 3-5 favorite facing a field of 10 challengers in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Nyquist jogged two miles around the Baltimore track Friday, and on Saturday morning he will walk the shedrow around the barn for about a half-hour before the 6:45 p.m. ET post time.

O'Neill and his assistants will pull the feed tub from the barn and two hours later, they will pull the water tub.

"Once we pull the feed tub, he knows," O'Neill told the Baltimore Sun. "And the game face begins. It's really exciting to watch that all unfold.

"I think what keeps me awake at night is just the excitement and realizing how blessed I am to be around such an amazing animal like Nyquist, and just the eagerness to get to the barn the next morning. It's just been a really awesome journey, and it continues to move forward."

Nyquist won the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby in 2:01.31, holding off hard-charging Exaggerator at the wire.

It was the second Derby win for the team of owner J. Paul Reddam, O'Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez. They took I'll Have Another to wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2012, but their chance at a Triple Crown was stopped when O'Neill scratched the horse with a tendon injury the morning before the Belmont Stakes.

O'Neill said Gutierrez is ready, too.

"He knows Nyquist so well, and Nyquist has so much natural speed away from the gate, that ideally he gets good position, wherever that is, and runs a big race," O'Neill said.

Nyquist hopes to follow American Pharoah, who ended a 37-year drought of Triple Crown winners last year.

Nyquist, the son of Uncle Mo and named after Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist, is 8-for-8 and a possibility to become the second undefeated Triple Crown winner along with Seattle Slew. There has only been one pair of back-to-back Triple Crown winners -- Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978.

Should Nyquist capture the Preakness, the bay colt would be up for the Triple Crown in the June 11 Belmont Stakes.

OTHER CONTENDERS IN THE FIELD

Nyquist has to worry about Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator.

The Preakness' second choice at 3-1, Exaggerator enters off a 1 1/4-length defeat to Nyquist in the Derby. In the horses' fifth meeting, the Keith Desormeaux-trained son of Curlin will attempt to finally turn the tables.

"He's just a phenomenal horse and he's tough to beat, but it's fun trying," Desormeaux, whose brother Kent rides Exaggerator, said earlier in the week. "I have a horse that one of his greatest attributes is his ability to recover. ... His demeanor and body looked the same 24 hours after the Kentucky Derby. That's a great ability to recover. Maybe Nyquist doesn't recover that well. It's not normal for a horse to recover that quickly."

Two horses Nyquist didn't face in the Derby should press the pace. Stradivari (8-1 odds) is lightly raced but highly respected and Bob Baffert trains 30-1 Collected, a multiple graded stakes winner who could give the Hall of Famer a record-tying seventh Preakness victory.

"It's going to be a step up for him," Baffert said. "He is fast, but there are a lot of fast horses in there. We feel like he deserves a chance. We never thought about the Derby with him, but he's the kind of horse that brings it every time."

RAIN COULD HAMPER NYQUIST

Nyquist is the class of the field, but muddy conditions could help Exaggerator against his rival.

Heavy rain is in the forecast Saturday for the Preakness. The rain will help keep temperatures well below normal, with highs only forecast in the upper 50s.

Exaggerator has exceled on a wet track, winning two of three races plus a second.