I’d love to see another Triple Crown winner, I like AP but I cannot stand his connections. Baffert is a huge cheater, has killed almost a dozen horses between rat poison and thyroid meds, but hey’ it’s OK he’s got nice hair and a quip for the media. So, yeah, let’s get a clean trainer who doesn’t have such baggage to get some good news for racing.
The odds are always long when it comes to lightning striking in the same place more than once. In 78, Affirmed succeeding Seattle Slew was probably more a surprise than anything else.
Here’s some interesting thoughts on the subject. The writer thinks that Nyquist has some problems, particularly as his breeding is not for distance.
I wouldn’t mind seeing another one before closing the paddock gate for the last time. Interesting thoughts, anyway.
http://www.docsports.com/2016/will-there-be-triple-crown-winner-expert-predictions-259.html
[QUOTE=RPM;8613892]
American Pharoah’s was my fourth Triple Crown. Secretariat’s was my first, and I waited 11 years for it from my first Derby (each race was won by a different horse that year, so no prospect of a Triple Crown after the Preakness).
So I’d like to see another winner this year. But I’m not biting my nails! 
Americans don’t breed much for classics winners these days.[/QUOTE]
My sentiments and personal bio as it pertains to the TC exactly. I am excited about Creator (love the way he lollygagged at the back of the field but poured it on wending his way through the field to the front) but not about his trainer. So the trainers ain’t what they used to be either.
[QUOTE=Idrivetrotters;8639322]
I’d love to see another Triple Crown winner, I like AP but I cannot stand his connections. Baffert is a huge cheater, has killed almost a dozen horses between rat poison and thyroid meds, but hey’ it’s OK he’s got nice hair and a quip for the media. So, yeah, let’s get a clean trainer who doesn’t have such baggage to get some good news for racing.[/QUOTE]
Ummm…have you ever read anything about Doug O’Neill???
Ummm…have you ever read anything about Doug O’Neill???
I thought the same thing when I read that post. There’s a lot of baggage going on there, and clean is maybe not the operative word? He’s had probably 20 medication violations and was suspended most recently in 2014. After already having been suspended in 2012.
I wouldn’t mind if we had a triple crown every year. I always attend the Belmont when a Triple Crown is on the line just in case history is made. I am having major shoulder surgery the week before the Belmont and am already fretting about possibly missing a back to back TC. My daughter keeps pointing out that you don’t walk on your shoulder but somehow I don’t think it is going to be that simple.
I have to say hearing Nyquist’s connections called “clean” is one of the funniest things I have ever read on this forum assuming it wasn’t sarcasm.
I’m not sure why, but I just don’t get the same feeling from Nyquist that I did/still do from Pharoah. Don’t get me wrong - I like him and wish him the best - but Pharoah gave me tears and goosebumps that Nyquist just doesn’t. To this day, I cry when I watch AP’s races, even though I have seen them countless times. I just don’t feel that connection with Nyquist, and I am not even sure why.
Yeah, Nyquist hasn’t won me over, I’m sure part of that is his name and part of that is his connections, but he sure looked good winning the Derby.
I’m not sure why, but I just don’t get the same feeling from Nyquist that I did/still do from Pharoah. Don’t get me wrong - I like him and wish him the best - but Pharoah gave me tears and goosebumps that Nyquist just doesn’t. To this day, I cry when I watch AP’s races, even though I have seen them countless times. I just don’t feel that connection with Nyquist, and I am not even sure why.
That’s exactly how I feel, too.
Yeah, Nyquist hasn’t won me over, I’m sure part of that is his name and part of that is his connections, but he sure looked good winning the Derby.
Agreed! I almost wish I could like him more, because he did look fabulous coming down the stretch.
I’ll get on the Nyquist train when he wins the Preakness
For many years I did not want a Triple Crown winner after Affirmed and The Slew. I did want Funny Cide and one other (forget whom) to win but they did not. Otherwise I did not want others to win. But last year it did not bother me that the Pharoah won. I loved watching The Slew and Affirmed win. Wish now that a filly could win the Triple Crown.
[QUOTE=Kim;8655298]
I’m not sure why, but I just don’t get the same feeling from Nyquist that I did/still do from Pharoah. Don’t get me wrong - I like him and wish him the best - but Pharoah gave me tears and goosebumps that Nyquist just doesn’t. To this day, I cry when I watch AP’s races, even though I have seen them countless times. I just don’t feel that connection with Nyquist, and I am not even sure why.[/QUOTE]
I feel the exact same. Nyquist doesn’t have that happy-go-lucky vibe that AP has. He gets his job done, and he wins, but…meh. AP always looked like he was having a blast.
The sum total of my knowledge about racing is based on watching Triple Crown races on TV every year, but from my “know-nothing” perspective, I don’t like the way Nyquist runs. He looks strung out and sort of on the forehand or something. I don’t know what it is, but it isn’t as pretty to watch as AP. It’s obviously efficient and has served him well, but it doesn’t give me goosebumps either.
I watched a compilation of all of AP’s wins today on Youtube and cried like a fool. There’s just something about him.
The only other horse I really loved and pulled for was Smarty Jones. I was heartbroken that he didn’t get the TC.
Nobody’s as pretty to watch as AP except possibly Beholder.
See, I’m finding Nyquist more appealing even than AP and I love AP. When you watched AP it was like watching royalty or something, you just knew he was special. I’ll agree nobody runs as pretty as AP but there’s a grit to Nyquist. He’s undefeated but still almost has an underdog quality to him, and he keeps coming out ahead while running in good company. I hope I don’t have to eat my words following the Preakness (or Belmont), but I like him and I’m hoping he does it too. Even if he doesn’t his record speaks for him…he’s still a darn good racehorse. He’s also supposedly a kind and pleasant fellow to be around like AP, so there’s that too. Hopefully he’ll gather some fan appeal
Yeah, truth be told, there’s never a total stand-out at the Derby because nobody really knows. I was on board with AP at last year’s Derby because I watched his Arkansas Derby win and immediately predicted he’d win the Derby on Facebook for all to see. That was just SUCH an impressive race. But honestly, I went into last year’s Derby with the same feeling I’ve always had, “I don’t care who wins, just let them all be safe and let the winner be able to win the next one!” When AP won the Derby, it wasn’t particularly mesmerizing, and I still wasn’t sure he’d win the Preakness. But he did, like a total boss, and by that time we were getting to “know” him and how sweet he is, etc. So, of course, with the TC on the line, like everyone else, I was behind him to win, and I felt pretty confident that he would. I’ve just never seen a horse run as easy and look so happy while doing it.
Nyquist does give the impression of a fighter. He’s nothing much to look at, just a little bay horse. No real sparkle. But there’s grit for sure. And I do like that he’s cooperative and versatile in his running style. And we’ll see at the Preakness if he’s a real contender for the Crown. I fear that distance in the Belmont might be his undoing though. Some great horses have come up short in that race.
According to this article, Nyquist has a little less than a 40% chance of being a TC champion if he wins the Preakness. And that doesn’t even take into consideration his athletic abilities. I would have thought the odds were longer.
