OCEANPORT, USA (AP) — Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist wasn’t on his game for the US$1 million Haskell Invitational.

Preakness winner Exaggerator was.

Charging into the lead over a sloppy track, Exaggerator pulled off another victory over Nyquist and staked his claim as the leading three-year-old colt in the United States.

“We’re just so proud of him,” trainer Keith Desormeaux’s assistant Julie Clark said.

“There was such anxiety as they came around the turn. To see him accelerate and pull away was awesome.”

Ten weeks ago in the slop at the Preakness, Exaggerator handed Nyquist his first loss and ended any chance of a Triple Crown repeat.

Now, Nyquist has lost two in a row after winning his first eight races, and Exaggerator atoned for an 11th-place finish in the Belmont Stakes.

“The race was great, perfect, but we were a little off today,” Nyquist’s jockey Mario Gutierrez said.

On a rainy, muggy day at Monmouth Park, Exaggerator made his usual late run after starting way behind the rest of the six-horse field. So far back, jockey Kent Desormeaux figured he’d better get moving sooner than later.

“I bet my brother was in shock asking “where the hell is he going?’” the Hall of Fame rider said about Keith, who was not at the Jersey shore track for the race.

“The fact of the matter, Keith, I wasn’t going anywhere. He was effortlessly galloping and reeling them in. He proved it down the lane. He just exploded.”

Exaggerator won by 1 1/2 lengths for his sixth victory in 13 starts.American Freedom finished second, with Sunny Ridge third and Nyquist fourth.Gun Runner was fifth, followed by Awesome Slew.

The winning time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.70.

“He certainly likes the sloppy going,” Clark said. “He’s proven himself. Now we have to prove him on a fast track.”

Exaggerator earned US$600,000 and boosted his earnings to US$3,571,120.