By Jeff Moss
DetroitSportsRag@GMail.com
September 7, 2015
There are still 243 days until the 2016 Kentucky Derby but there is no question who the early favorite is for the 142nd annual Run for the Roses. And the two-year-old colt has a huge connection to the Detroit Red Wings.
On Labor Day, Nyquist — obviously named after Wings’ forward Gustav Nyquist — cruised to victory in the Del Mar Futurity at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, just outside of San Diego, California.
Nyquist improved his record to 3-for-3 with the victory in the prestigious Grade I race, exclusive to horses in their first year of racing. The promising colt is trained by Doug O’Neill and owned by J. Paul Reddam.
Those are the same connections that campaigned the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I’ll Have Another. That horse was robbed of a chance at the Triple Crown when an injury was detected just a day before the Belmont Stakes was to be run.
So how did the son of Uncle Mo end up being named after the Wings’ prolific goal scorer? Reddam is a Windsor, Ontario native and a diehard fan of Detroit’s professional hockey team. The former philosophy professor and successful businessman has in the past named several of his charges after other Wings players.
In fact, Reddam has another promising two-year-old colt named Mrazek, who is also trained by O’Neill. He has also named horses after Jiri Hudler, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk ….. and even super Red Wing Fan Mo Cheese.
I wish I were joking about that last one.
The next logical landing spot for Nyquist would be in the FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita Park before a final start on Halloween in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
You can watch the equine version of the Goose winning the Del Mar Futurity by clicking here.