2016 Kentucky Derby Winner
March 10 - Nyquist
Nyquist was raced by Paul Reddam, a Canadian by birth, and evidently a big hockey fan, as this Kentucky Derby winner takes his name from the NHL Nashville Predators Gustav Nyquist.
Here is an example of how horse racing can shrink the world into a tight community of friends. I have painted two of Mr. Reddam's horses, both were Kentucky Derby winners, the other horse being I'll Have Another. I painted I'll Have Another for the Okada family's Big Reg Farm in Japan. I had previously painted Roses In May for Mr. Okada, so the relationship was already in place when I'll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and was sold to Big Red Farm. A few years go by, and Mr. Reddam wins the derby again (great trivia questions as to who has won the derby twice in the 21st century, add in WinStar with Super Saver and Justify).
I've painted Nyquist twice with one of the paintings going to Chip Muth who now owns the farm where he was foaled, the late Gerry Dilger's Dromoland Farm in Lexington, KY.
And then, last year I was asked to paint the dam of Nyquist, Seeking Gabrielle, for Tom Hinkle who bought her when Nyquist was a wealing weanling by first crop sire Uncle Mo.
Small world between connections in Japan and just around the corner in Paris, KY.
Nyquist looks just like his dad, that sleek brown bay coat and hardly any white to be found. Mom is a stunning looking chestnut, that kind of chestnut that looks as if she was cast in bronze.
Oh, one more bit of trivia - did you know that back to back winners of the Kentucky Derby were foaled at Dromoland Farm? Yep, Nyquist and Always Dreaming.
Nyquist was a brilliant champion who won the 2016 Kentucky Derby and the 2015 Breeders Cup Juvenile, becoming one of the few horses ever to combine those two championship races. He was foaled in 2013 and trained by Doug O'Neill for owner J. Paul Reddam of Reddam Racing. His sire was the unbeaten 2010 Champion Two Year Old Uncle Mo, and his dam was Seeking Gabrielle, a daughter of Forestry. He was named after Detroit Red Wings hockey player Gustav Nyquist, a friend of the Reddam family.
Nyquist was unbeaten as a two year old in 2015. He won every start, including the Del Mar Futurity, the FrontRunner Stakes, and the 2015 Breeders Cup Juvenile at Keeneland. The win gave him five wins in five starts and earned him the Eclipse Award for Champion Two Year Old Male. He came into 2016 as one of the top Kentucky Derby prospects in years.
His three year old campaign continued the unbeaten run. He won the San Vicente Stakes and then the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, his final Derby prep. He went into the 2016 Kentucky Derby with a 7 for 7 record and as the betting favorite. The race played out perfectly. Nyquist, ridden by jockey Mario Gutierrez, sat in a great spot, took the lead in the stretch, and held off Exaggerator by 1 and a quarter lengths. Doug O'Neill, Mario Gutierrez, and J. Paul Reddam had their second Kentucky Derby trophy after I'll Have Another in 2012.
Two weeks later in the 2016 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, the script changed. The track came up sloppy, and Nyquist could not handle the going. Exaggerator, who loved an off track, ran past him in the stretch and won easily, with Nyquist finishing third. He skipped the Belmont Stakes and ran one more time in the Haskell Invitational before being retired due to a minor illness. He finished his career with 8 wins from 11 starts and earnings of over 5.1 million dollars.
Nyquist went to stud at Darley's Jonabell Farm in Kentucky and quickly became a top young sire. His son Vino Rosso's stablemate Vekoma is no relation, but Nyquist has produced his own classic family. Nyquist is remembered as one of the great juvenile champions of the modern era and a true classic winner who carried both speed and stamina to the Kentucky Derby finish line.
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