There's a reason why Nyquist is installed as the 6-5 favorite for the Haskell at Monmouth Park.
OCEANPORT -- When thoroughbred racing fans last saw Nyquist on the track, the bay colt was finishing a disappointing third in the slop in the Preakness Stakes last May.
The Kentucky Derby-winner will race for the first time in 71 days on Sunday, returning for the betfair.com Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
"Everyone knows that he got sick coming out of the Preakness so we gave him plenty of time and once he was a 100 percent we gave him even more time,'' said trainer Doug O'Neill, who opted to hold Nyquist out of the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, to get back to prime condition.
"He's been doing really well. His last few works have been exceptional and his last work was the best I've seen out of him in a long time. We are coming into the race with a lot of optimism.''
It won't have the historic significance of winning the Kentucky Derby, but in many ways a triumph in the Haskell would be equally important for Nyquist's legacy.
Not only would a win ease the sting of the Preakness defeat, it would put Nyquist in the driver's seat for the Horse of the Year honor in this year's 3-year old male class.
There are four other horses to contend with, but for Nyquist, Monmouth Park's signature race sets up as a rematch against the colt who cost him a shot at a Triple Crown.
Nyquist was out-dueled down the stretch on a rain-soaked Pimlico track seven weeks ago, losing to Exaggerator for the first time in five meetings. The loss also was the first of the career for Nyquist, who was unblemished through his first eight races.
The 49th renewal of the Haskell is scheduled for a 5:47 p.m. post-time and will be televised on NBC.
Haskell 2016: Post positions and odds
"He shipped in fine and ate up all of his food (Wednesday) night,'' O'Neill said of Nyquist, the morning-line favorite at 6-5. "We tracked him (Thursday) and he showed a lot of good energy so he is down to gallop tomorrow. The morning of the race, he will walk the shed row and then in the afternoon, he will run real hard and real tough.''
While Nyquist's connections pointed their 2-year-old champion to the Haskell in mid-July, Exaggerator wasn't committed to Monmouth Park's Grade 1 race until Wednesday.
"Those kinds of things are always fun,'' trainer Keith Desormeaux said of the anticipated rematch. "Nyquist is a top horse and it's always fun to outrun top competition.''
Bred in Kentucky by Summerhill Farm, Nyquist was purchased by Paul Reddam at a sale of 2-year olds for $400,000.
"From the moment he walked into the barn,'' O'Neill said, "we were fired up about him.''
The son of 2010 two-year-old champion Uncle Mo is named after Gustav Nyquist, a 26-year old forward on the Detroit Red Wings. Reddam is said to be a big Detroit Red Wings fan and decided to pay tribute to the Swedish-born player who tallied 17 goals and 26 assists while playing in all 82 games during the 2015-16 NHL season.
Upon retirement, Nyquist will stand at Lexington, Ky.-based Jonabell Farm after Darley America purchased his breeding rights days after Nyquist won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Halloween 2015.
But first there's the matter of closing his racing career in style.
"For a six horse field, (the Haskell) is very deep,'' O'Neill said. "We are just honored to be here and hopefully he can run one of his best races because he is going to have to bring one of his better races to win.''
Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.