Exaggerator’s Owner Aims to Beat the Best to Be the Best

July 30th, 2016 by Tom Pedulla

Exaggerator gets comfortable at his barn at Monmouth Park. (Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)

Exaggerator’s connections continue to be relentless in their pursuit of once-beaten Nyquist.

“You’ve got to run against the best to be the best,” said Matt Bryan of Big Chief Racing, who heads the ownership group.

That philosophy contributed to a startling change of plans. Although Exaggerator was training at Saratoga Race Course for an anticipated start in the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes on Saturday, he instead will line up against Nyquist once more as part of a short but talent-laden six-horse field in the $1 million betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes on Sunday at Monmouth Park.

“A lot of owners and trainers dodge and try to pick the easiest route,” Bryan said. “We pick the hardest route sometimes.”

Exaggerator lost to Nyquist in their first four meetings, the last of those a 1 ¼-length defeat in the Kentucky Derby before he rebounded in a big way, slapping Nyquist with the lone setback of his career when the 2-year-old champion ran third to him in the Preakness Stakes.

Both colts have something to prove in the Haskell, a 1 1/8-mile contest that should help to determine year-end championship honors in the 3-year-old division. Nyquist has been sidelined since he developed a fever after the Preakness. Exaggerator, known for his consistency, ran a perplexing 11th in the Belmont Stakes. He joined Japan-based Lani as the only horses to compete in all three Triple Crown races.

The Haskell is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic and will be televised on Sunday at 5 p.m. on NBC.

Keith Desormeaux, Exaggerator’s trainer, cited several reasons for calling an “audible” for his horse’s comeback. He did not at all like what he saw during a laborious six-furlong workout timed in 1:13.87 on July 23 and was convinced that had more to do with the main track at Saratoga than anything else.

“He was pulling himself up after the work,” Desormeaux said, “and that’s telling me he might have been struggling with the deep Saratoga surface.”

As the two prep races for the Aug. 27 Travers at Saratoga took shape, Desormeaux also saw that the pace scenario for the Haskell is more likely to favor Exaggerator, who relies on a late-closing kick. There is ample speed to keep Nyquist company after the 6-5 favorite breaks from the rail for Mario Gutierrez.

Desormeaux said of the move to the Haskell, “That was the right thing to do because there is plenty of speed in the race.”

Exaggerator will break from far outside and is the second choice in the morning line at 5-2. He will be ridden by Keith’s brother, Kent. American Freedom, the Iowa Derby winner, is 3-1 for jockey Rafael Bejarano largely because he is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, a dominant figure in the Haskell.

Although Baffert is based on the West Coast, he has shipped East to win the Haskell a record eight times. Incredibly, that mark includes wins in five of the last six editions. His most recent success, of course, occurred when Triple Crown winner American Pharoah strutted his brilliance at Monmouth last year.

Gun Runner, third in the Kentucky Derby, provides yet another strong contender at 4-1. Florent Geroux will be aboard. Longshots Awesome Slew (15-1) and Sunny Ridge (20-1) complete the field.

Desormeaux is confident his horse will mount the rally that was missing in the 1 ½-mile Belmont.

“The horse is fit and sound and happy and confident,” he said. “He’s ready to go.”