Well, experts like Joe Drape and aficionados like Thomas DeChiara will be rooting for Exaggerator – the Andy Murray of Thoroughbred racehorses. But I’m sticking with Nyquist for the Preakness Stakes Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland (5 p.m., NBC), where the forecast is for rain.
That shouldn’t bother Nyquist. You gotta love a horse that simply will not let anything or anyone get in front of him for too long, a horse that has the will, the sheer grit, the heart to propel himself to the front of the pack. Some animals – some people – simply must be first. ...
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Read MoreRoger Federer’s out of the French Open with continuing injuries, and already the Mark Antonys are out in force to praise and bury Caesar.
No Fed fan here but, as with Mark Twain, reports of his (tennis) death are greatly exaggerated. Federer will never retire, because being a player on the ATP tour – as opposed to what John McEnroe calls the old fogey’s tour – is at the core of his identity and because Feddy fans, including The New York Times, would have a nervous breakdown. Already the planets are spinning backward with Novak Djokovic’s name being thrown into the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) ring. ...
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Read MoreSpring has returned and with it Rafanole.
The rivalry that is the best in tennis – perhaps the greatest of all time in the sport – renewed itself at the Italian Open as Novak Djokovic outlasted Rafael Nadal 7-5 7-6 (4) in the quarterfinals. As is always the case between these two, it was closer than the score indicated.
It was also a match in which the hyperbolic announcers bandied about the word “gladiatorial” a great deal. And yet there really is something gladiatorial about Rafanole’s contests, particularly on the grueling red clay of Rome. The penetrating groundstrokes, the carefully calibrated net-play, the intensity of two never-give-in battlers and yet, something ineffable as well. There’s a chemistry here that will neither be denied nor explained. ...
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Read MoreAnyone want to make a bold prediction for this year’s Triple Crown races? Win, lose or draw, the undefeated Nyquist is a star. (We’d say more – except we don’t want to jinx the bay beauty’s chances in the Preakness Stakes May 21 and the Belmont Stakes June 11.)
OK, so we think he has Triple Crown/superhorse potential as well as the ability to develop an Affirmed/Alydar rivalry with Exaggerator. There’s a lot of the gritty Affirmed in Nyquist. And a lot of Seattle Slew as well.
But you don’t have to wait until the Preakness for your equestrian fix. The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows in North Salem are underway. ...
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Read MoreJust when I said that Nyquist reminded me of Seattle Slew, lo and behold some of the experts come along and agree. Like Slew, Nyquist is dark, underrated and a prodigy, becoming a champ at 2. Like Slew, Nyquist came into the Kentucky Derby undefeated. And like Slew, Nyquist has captured the Derby, the first jewel in the Triple Crown and now moves on to the Preakness May 21.
There are those like Thoroughbred aficionado and art collector Thomas DeChiara who see the hard-charging Exaggerator’s second-place Derby finish to Nyquist as a kind of Affirmed-Alydar rivalry. Could be. Alydar is the only horse in history to finish second in the three Triple Crown races, always to Affirmed, who succeeded Slew as Triple Crown champ in 1978. But for Affirmed, Alydar would’ve won the Triple Crown. ...
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Read MoreFor all the doubters, Nyquist had the answer – a Kentucky Derby win.
The bay colt, named for Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist – the horse’s owner, J. Paul Reddam, is a big hockey fan – became the eighth undefeated horse to win the Derby and improves to 8-0. Next up is the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland May 21.
Exaggerator – our friend Thomas DeChiara’s pick – was a hard-charging second and looks to be a worthy rival. Gun Runner was third.
But really, it was all Nyquist, who bided his time close to the lead and then found that extra gear that defines the true champion. ...
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Read MoreBoy, it’s a good thing horses can’t read. Because if they could, they might be really depressed.
Take Nyquist, the 3-1 favorite for the Kentucky Derby later today. He’s undefeated coming into the Derby and has bested many of the challengers. But you’d never know that from the coverage. “Despite His Credentials, Nyquist Has His Doubters” The New York Times headline blared.
There are many reasons for this. There’s nothing in betting on the favorite. The more you win, the closer you are to losing. And people enjoy tearing down a winner perhaps even more than they enjoy getting on a winner’s bandwagon. ...
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