Like Father Like Son – the Rise of Nyquist

This past weekend freshman sire Nyquist sired his second grade one winner. Gretzky the Great won the prestigious Summer Stakes at Woodbine on the turf. He follows the filly Vequist who took the Spinaway at Saratoga just a couple weeks prior on the dirt. The Summer Stakes was run at a mile while the Spinaway was seven furlongs. Nyquist also sired the third place finisher in the Spinaway, Lady Lilly.

Nyquist was from the first crop of Champion Two Year Old Colt Uncle Mo who capped off an undefeated two year old season with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. His three year old season was interrupted by illness but he scored one of the most impressive wins of any horse in 2011 when he dominated a field of older runners in the Grade Two Kelso where he ran a 120 Beyer Speed Figure. As a son of Indian Charlie, another brilliant runner, Uncle Mo is carrying on the Caro sireline. He’s out of a mare by Arch and carries three strains of Northern Dancer in his pedigree. He never won beyond the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile distance of a mile and a sixteenth but that stoutness in his pedigree has seen him pass on genes to runners who have won at longer distances. Uncle Mo currently stands for a fee of $125,000 and is second on the leading sire list to Into Mischief. From that first crop of runners Uncle Mo sired three other grade one winners, all of whom won at a mile or more and he has not stopped since. Much like Nyquist his foals have done well over turf and dirt (likely the influence of broodmare sire Arch by Kris S., a son of Roberto).

Nyquist came out of the gate running winning his first eight starts including an undefefated two year old season. Like his sire he won the Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile and was named Champion Two Year Old Colt. Unlike his sire he went on to run in – and win – the Kentucky Derby the following year. Overall he won five grade one stakes during that streak which was broken when he finished third in the Preakness over a very sloppy track. He made two more starts after the Preakness but failed to hit the board in either of them. The field Nyquist left behind in the Kentucky Derby was particularly strong with Exaggerator (the eventual Preakness winner) in second and later Horse of the Year Gun Runner in third. Other major winners in the field included Creator and Destin who would finish first and second respectively in the Belmont, the highly regarded Mohayman and Outwork who had won the Wood Memorial. Outwork is also a son of Uncle Mo and currently Nyquist and Outwork are the leading freshman sires of 2020.

Nyquist won grade ones from seven furlongs to a mile and a quarter which was perhaps surprising as he does not have the same stamina influences back in his pedigree that Uncle Mo does. His first dam is by Forestry a speedy son of Storm Cat. Nyquist is the only black type horse under his young first dam but his second dam, Seeking Regina by Seeking the Gold is a very active mare. She was a grade two winner sprinting as a two year old and produced a very fast daughter named Seeking the Sky (another sprinter) who in turn produced Sahara Sky. Sahara Sky was a speedy son of Pleasant Tap who was able to carry his speed up to a mile in the Grade One Metropolitan Handicap but was a multiple graded winner in sprints. Seeking Regina also produced two graded stakes placed runners, both getting that distinction in two year old sprint stakes.

Gretzky the Great is likely to go directly to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf off his Summer Stakes win. He had previously won the listed Soaring Free Stakes at six and a half furlongs in a speedy 1:13.83. He’s out of a stakes placed daughter of Champion Three Year Old Colt Bernardini who is emerging as a major broodmare sire. Gretzky the Great is only her second foal. Interestingly he is inbred 5×3 to Kris S. Vequist is also out of a mare by a son of A.P. Indy – Horse of the Year Mineshaft. Her dam was also graded placed as a runner. Vequist is her third foal, the first two are both winners. To add to the trend Lady Lilly is also out of a mare by an A.P. Indy son, in this case Pulpit. Her dam was also stakes placed and she has produced three older foals, again all of whom are winners. Vequist’s connections have not announced her next race but they have said they believe she will be better going longer and want to try her around two turns prior to the Breeders’ Cup. Lady Lilly’s connections have also not decided upon her next start.

Overall Nyquist has twenty four starters and eight winners. On September first he had an impressive maiden winner at Churchill out of a Giant’s Causeway mare. He also has a winner out of a mare by another son of Storm Cat, Sea of Secrets. Another winner is out of a Scat Daddy mare who is also from the Storm Cat line. The last two winners both have broodmare sires from the Northern Dancer line, one from a Citidancer (by Dixieland Band) mare and the other from a Square Eddie (Awesome Again) mare. As of this writing Nyquist leads Outwork on the Freshman Sire List by around $15,000 but he also leads the sire list by average earnings per starter with $29,638 which is over $5,000 higher than that of Outwork’s. Depending on how the rest of the year goes it seems almost certain that Nyquist’s stud fee will rise above the $40,000 he stood for in 2020.