Exaggerator ended any Triple Crown suspense by handing Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist his first career loss in the Preakness Stakes but the colt has more to prove in the Belmont Stakes.
Exaggerator, the 9-5 early favourite for Belmont (2400m) on Saturday (Sunday AEST), is primed to underline his prowess in the finale of the Classic series for three-year-olds.
“You couldn’t get him any better than he is now. He’s very sound, he’s very fresh. He seems very confident,” trainer Keith Desormeaux said.
“I talk about his antics and his energy all the time but it’s controlled energy. It’s not nervous. He’s very confident and he should be sitting on a huge race.”
The son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin will start from gate 11 of 13 with 5-1 second choice Stradivari starting from five and Destin (6-1) two.
Stradivari and Destin are both trained by Todd Pletcher.
Missing from the field is Nyquist, who came out of his third-place finish in the Preakness with a fever and elevated white blood cell count that led to a decision to skip the Belmont.
Desormeaux was unconcerned about the wide gate despite the short run to the first turn.
“Just because it’s a little shorter run into the first turn here, it seems it would be a disadvantage to be on the outside,” Desormeaux said.
“If I had a speed horse, I’d be worried. But Exaggerator breaks, drops the bit and relaxes so he should have plenty of opportunity to drop in closer to the rail going into that first turn.”
Desormeaux’s optimism is further fuelled by confidence in his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, the trainer’s younger brother who won the 2009 Belmont aboard Summer Bird among seven Triple Crown race victories.
“The more experienced, the more tactical hands you can have has got to be for the better, and I think I’ve got a pretty good jockey,” he said.
