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Horse racing-Nyquist trainer salutes Exaggerator

May 21 (Reuters) - Trainer Doug O'Neill saw Nyquist as invincible, but after a third-place run on a sloppy Preakness track on Saturday, he tipped his cap to winner Exaggerator and voiced love for his Kentucky Derby champion colt. "It's a bummer, of course," said O'Neill, whose Nyquist entered the 1-3/16 mile race at Pimlico with an 8-0 career mark. "Our horse, he's such an amazing horse. I can't wait to see him in a little bit, give him a big kiss and a pat on the head because he's still a winner in our book. "They're not machines. Being 8-for-8, we kept thinking that this horse is never going to lose, but they all lose one time or another. We'll be OK." Nyquist had beaten Exaggerator in all four of their previous meetings, including a 1-1/4 lengths victory at Churchill Downs. O'Neill said he would talk to jockey Mario Gutierrez and watch video replays before offering an analysis of the race. "We'll kind of figure this all out, watch some replays," he said. "Nyquist still ran a huge race." "They went pretty good early on," he said about the fast early pace. "I just really wanted to see a good, clean trip and trouble free. I think Mario did a wonderful job with that. "He (Nyquist) didn't bring it today and more than anything Exaggerator just ran a monstrous race. Hats off to them." The early pace may have taken too much out of Nyquist, who was overtaken down the stretch by Exaggerator, who was already proven on an off-track and saved ground by sticking to the rail. "Nyquist had done so much early in the race and just couldn't keep pace," said O'Neill. "I'm very proud of him." The trainer said running from out front was his idea. "We thought we had the best horse and wanted to ride him like the best horse and not try to get too cute and get perfect positioning," he said. "Him going fast early was really my idea." Japan-based Lani, the only other Derby runner in the 11-horse field, was a strong fifth after finishing ninth at Churchill Downs. "He broke from the gate slow as usual. After the wire he passed everybody," said Lani trainer Mikio Matsunaga. "This was much better than the Derby. I really feel on a fast track he would have been closer. The race we're looking forward to now is the Belmont because it's longer." The 1-1/2 mile Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown for 3-year-olds is on June 11 in New York. (Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)