It can be hard out there for a second-crop yearling sire.
Between a fresh class of rookies and the ever-narrowing upper echelon of proven commercial sires to flock toward, a fickle marketplace can quickly forget a stallion still trying to establish himself on the racetrack and in the auction ring at the same time.
That hasn’t quite been the case for Darley‘s Nyquist.
The champion son of Uncle Mo has been well-represented through the first two books of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, including a class-leading seven in Book 1. Through the end of Book 2, Nyquist is the leading second-crop sire with three or more sold by average sale price, with 16 yearlings changing hands for an average of $256,250.
Nyquist was also responsible for the most expensive second-crop yearling of the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, with Mike Ryan, agent, landing a filly out of the Elusive Quality mare Perfect Note for $510,000. That was one of two Nyquist yearlings sold for $500,000 or more at the Fasig-Tipton sale.
“They have a lot of star quality about them,” said Darren Fox, Darley’s sales manager. “It’s a very strong second crop of yearlings. He had a tremendous bunch of physicals at the Fasig sale, and that’s obviously continued on strong into Keeneland September.”
Fox noted the fortunate timing of this year’s Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes, run Sept. 6 at Saratoga Race Course, which Nyquist’s daughter Vequist won by 9 1/2 lengths. Lady Lilly, also by Nyquist, finished third in the same race, giving the sire a strong update in the days leading up to the September sales.
Nyquist currently sits in second on the freshman sire list by earnings, with $562,073, trailing WinStar Farm’s Outwork with $682,684. However, Nyquist holds the advantage for average earnings by runner ($24,438), and he is tied for the lead in both stakes winners (three, with Outwork) and graded stakes winners (one, with Not This Time). His eight total winners to date ties him for third in the class.
Nyquist himself got off to a blazing start as a runner, spearheading the record-setting freshman crop for his sire, Uncle Mo.
He went undefeated in five starts at two, capped off by a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland, which clinched that season’s champion 2-year-old male honors. Nyquist then won the first three starts of his 3-year-old campaign, including the G1 Florida Derby and ultimately the Kentucky Derby, making him just the second horse to ever pull off the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile/Kentucky Derby double. He later ran third in the Preakness Stakes.
The first of the Nyquists have come out running early like their sire did five years ago, but Fox said he expected them to show another gear in a year’s time.
“These are horses that are coming good at the right time,” Fox said. “[Nyquist] was an unbeaten champion 2-year-old, but he trained on to win the Derby. These are horses that have a two-turn 3-year-old look to them. They have lovely length of body. They certainly will not just be 2-year-olds. They have a 3-year-old year in them, and that’s something that’s exciting about them. What we’re seeing at two certainly gives us a lot to look forward to.”
Nyquist’s top yearling of the season so far is a colt out of the winning Vindication mare Invitation who sold to Courtlandt Farm for $635,000 during Book 1 of the Keeneland September sale. After the two yearlings sold for $500,000 or more at the Fasig-Tipton sale, Nyquist has since added three more at that price point during the Keeneland September sale.
Aside from the buying public’s acceptance of Nyquist’s second-crop yearlings this season, another thing worth noting is that Nyquist has been put in a unique position to succeed during the first books of Keeneland September, and at Fasig-Tipton’s select sale, in the first place based on the quality of his stock.
At both auctions, the offerings are sorted by inspection teams based on their projected commercial appeal, and the selling that has already commenced this month represents the highest-quality commercial yearlings committed to both auction companies. The fact that Nyquist has been this active so early in the season is a stout endorsement for a stallion still proving himself.
Nyquist had 20 yearlings cataloged for the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. Fellow Darley resident Frosted was the only other stallion in the class with more than 10 in the book.
At Keeneland, only seven second-crop stallions had yearlings in the auction’s select Book 1 at all, and Nyquist had the most of that group. When the catalog opened up a bit more for Book 2, still firmly in the market’s higher levels, Nyquist had 16 yearlings entered, tying him with Frosted for the most in that segment.
When it came to the respect Nyquist and his foals have seen beyond the high-profile first crop, Fox credited the consistent, high-level support the stallion has gotten from breeders throughout his time at stud. Without that sustained quantity and quality, he said, a performance like the one his yearlings have put on so far wouldn’t be possible.
“Nyquist booked full every year his first four years at stud at full fee, not a dime off, and his quality never tapered off,” Fox said. “He bred a consistent, high-quality book of mares through his first four years. If anything, the market might have gotten stronger on him as the years have gone on.”
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