Gretzky the Great became the second G1 winner for white-hot freshman sire Nyquist with an emphatic win in the G1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine on September 20th.
With the win, Nyquist becomes the first freshman sire since Danzig in 1984 to have two G1-winning first-crop juveniles before the end of September.
Gretzky the Great broke well under jockey Kazushi Kimura and sat in second behind Ready to Repeat through the early stages of the one-mile turf contest. He began to move up around the turn, took control easily in the stretch and pulled away to win by over three lengths as much the best for trainer Mark Casse and owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber. The victory gives Gretzky the Great a "Win and You're In" automatic bid to the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in November at Keeneland.
Bred by Anderson Farms in Ontario, Gretzky the Great is out of the Stakes-placed Bernardini mare Pearl Turn. He becomes the tenth G1 winner for Bernardini as a broodmare sire - more than any 17-year-old stallion in history.
The victory elevates Nyquist to #1 on the freshman sire list. Nyquist is also the sire of G1 Spinaway winner Vequist, Saratoga debut winner and G1 Spinaway third Lady Lilly, Saratoga winner Team Merchants, Ellis Park winners Assertive Style and Dream Quist, Laurel debut winner Kwist, and Churchill debut winner Seeking Seca. His second-crop yearlings in 2020 have sold for $635k, $510k, $510k, $500k, $500k, etc.
