Schwarzmarkt » exploring the house when they came across the room

Nyquist is in the news again. Remember him? The Breeders Cup Juvenile winner, 2-year-old male champion, and undefeated hero of the Kentucky freakin Derby? All it took was two high-profile losses for him to be relegated to yesterdays fishwrap, a one-hit wonder. This years Super Saver. Orb in West Coast drag.Is this a tough room or what?In the most recent NTRA Top Thoroughbred poll -- comprised of 39 votes from an assortment of industry pundits -- Nyquist was still clinging to the No. 10 spot, compared to No. 6 for fellow 3-year-old Arrogate. His greatest sin, despite a record of 8 for 10, seems to be that he has not lived up to the standard set by American Pharoah. Good luck with that.Paul Reddams champ has been out of sight and nearly everyones mind since finishing fourth in the Haskell. He had been training at Del Mar, but Doug ONeill thought a change of scenery would help the cause -- there was something about a growth spurt -- so he dispatched Nyquist to San Luis Rey Downs, a Southern California training center so out of the way that GPS has yet to find it on the map.No kidding, said Kevin Havell, manager of San Luis Rey Downs. GPS takes you way over there to Lilac Road. We get delivery guys calling us all the time asking, Where are you?With such technological anonymity comes peace of mind. Horses loll around at San Luis Rey like box turtles. The only thing they look forward to more than feed time is a nap. Sure, they put in the hard work of racehorses in the morning -- Peter Miller wins training titles out of San Luis Rey -- but when the afternoon comes and the breeze from the Pacific crests the surrounding hills, it is easy to forget the hubbub of a racetrack backstretch full of 1,500 anxious animals and the attendant human traffic.The vacation is almost over, said Jonny Garcia on Monday morning, not long after giving Nyquist a solid jog around San Luis Reys dirt mile.Garcia has been riding Nyquist since the colt arrived at Santa Anita fresh from a 2-year-old sale. He has followed him to Keeneland, Gulfstream Park, Churchill Downs, Pimlico, and Monmouth Park, and now they are on the road again to Parx, near Philadelphia, for the $1.25 million Pennsylvania Derby on Saturday.At Parx, Nyquist will face his old pal Exaggerator, who beat him on sloppy tracks in both the Preakness and the Haskell Invitational. The forecast for Saturday calls for neither rain nor the presence of Arrogate, the runaway winner of the Travers, so the two classic winners should have the headlines to themselves.Exaggerator still needs to prove he can win a big one on a dry track, while Nyquist must quell any notions that the division has left him behind as the champion of the first five months of the year. This usually gets you nothing.In his favor, Nyquist has been working like he means it at San Luis Rey, with a progressively faster series of miles over the deepish, sandy loam. Nyquists most recent 1:38.20 under Garcia last weekend was as good as a horse should work.I know hes grown, and he feels stronger, Garcia said. His stride is bigger. I like to start him out relaxed in his work, then pick it up after about three-eighths and finish steady.When he is at his best, that is exactly how Nyquist runs his races. In his last two starts -- not coincidentally his only two losses -- he has been asked to press a fast pace. This is not his style, and at the same time, there is no reason to believe that a false pace would ever compromise his chances. He is the ultimate stalker.Garcia, 30, has been with the ONeill stable for nine years. Clearly, the trainer trusts him with the best. Garcias headline horses prior to Nyquist were Derby-Preakness winner Ill Have Another and two-time Breeders Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents.When Garcia says that Nyquist has never changed, he is talking about a relatively mellow equine personality that was transparent from the start. Even his quirks have persisted.Yes, look at the back wall, Garcia said, and sure enough, there were the telltale Nyquist teeth marks that have appeared in every stall hes ever occupied.But even the easygoing have their limits. ONeill thought a few sessions in the San Luis Rey equine swimming pool would do Nyquist a world of good, as it has for any number of horses who trend a little sour on the daily grind.First time in, he was great, said San Luis Reys Havell. Usually, when that happens, theyre golden. But when he went back in, he froze. It was clear he wanted out, so we certainly dont push them into having a bad experience. That was the end of the pool for him.What began as a two-week aqua-therapy break turned into six weeks of training-center bliss for Nyquist. And if hes not ready to pick up where he left off after winning the Kentucky Derby, hes been fooling a lot of people. Garcia doesnt think so.We leave here Wednesday, gallop there Thursday and Friday, win on Saturday, and come home to Santa Anita on Sunday, he said with a smile. Then back to work on Monday. Nike Air Force 1 Norge Prisjakt . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. Air Force 1 Dame Norge . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. http://www.airforce1norge.com/air-force-1-07-norge.html . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Air Force 1 Just Do It Norge .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Air Force 1 Norge . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Carl Haas, who died on Thursday, has been described as an American auto racing impresario. It is a perfect description. Not only did Haas run successful teams in several branches of the sport, he also looked the part thanks to a large cigar permanently clamped between his teeth. In partnership with the actor Paul Newman, Indycar racing provided the most fertile ground for Newman/Haas Racing with no less than eight championships.The F1 fraternity got to know Haas when he ran the Beatrice/Haas team in association with Ford in 1985 and 1986, and several years later when Nigel Mansell crossed the Atlantic to win the Indycar title for Newman/Haas in 1993. Haas may have been an extremely tough negotiator but anyone who knew him had nothing but affection for the man and respect for an extremely professional team that strived to have the best in everything.Haas had his eccentricities to go with a keen sense of humour. I first became aware of him in Montreal in 1980. The Canadian Grand Prix back then was the penultimate race of the season and the championship had come down to a tough head-to-head between Alan Jones of Williams and Brabhams Nelson Piquet.On race morning, I stood in the pit lane and watched with bemusement as this strange figure with a cigar was moving around Joness car, touching every part of the FW07B. Joness number 1 mechanic, Wayne Eckersley, nearly had a fit but Frank restrained the straight-talking Aussie and quietly explained that this laying on of hands was a ritual carried out by Haas on his own cars before each race. There was no harm in it. Jones had won the Can-Am championship for Haas in 1978 and, if thats what Carl wanted to do for his former driver, let him go ahead.Strangely enough, within seconds of the start, Piquet and Jones collided. The Brabham was damaged. The Williamms was not.dddddddddddd The switch to the spare Brabham for the restart would be Piquets downfall while Jones raced on with his intact car to take the title.Many great names raced for Haas and every one of them has a kindly tale to tell. None more so than Mario Andretti, who won 18 races and the 1984 IndyCar title for the man from Chicago. Over dinner at Milwaukee one year, Andretti got into talking about Haas and recalled that his boss had a fetish for shoes. He had hundreds of pairs. At a party one year, a couple of mechanics were quietly exploring the house when they came across the room with row upon row of shoes neatly racked, many still in their boxes and never worn.Purloining a pair each, they carefully wrapped them and, for fun, presented them to the boss as Christmas presents. Haas was deeply moved by the fact that his guys had gone to trouble of not only finding the style and colours he liked but also the correct size. He was so close to tears, they didnt have the heart to tell him.Paying tribute yesterday, Andretti said: Carl had a heart of gold and a deep commitment to our sport. He earned the respect and admiration of his competitors and all those who drove for him through the years for being tenacious yet fair. Carl always sought the best equipment, the best drivers and the best team personnel. When I recall the joys of my whole career, I have to include my tenure at Newman/Haas because of the people. Spending 12 seasons with Carl and (wife) Berni and Paul Newman was amazing, triumphant, relentless work and heartwarming. All of it. The sport has lost a colorful character, but Carl Haas is unforgettable. Myself and so many others have lost a dear friend. ' ' '