Nysos

Nysos, a Nyquist colt owned by Baoma Corp. and trained by Bob Baffert, turned heads in his debut Oct. 21, 2023, at Santa Anita Park when he won a six-furlong maiden race by 10 ½ lengths. The colt carried odds of 6.40-1 in that victory but was bet down to 1-5 favoritism in his next start and stakes debut against three opponents at Del Mar on Nov. 19, 2023.

With Flavien Prat riding, Nysos took over at will at the top of the stretch and won the seven-furlong, Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes by 8 ¾ lengths.

Following his win in the Bob Hope, Nysos took a break from racing of over two months, as anticipation built for his 3-year-old debut. He returned Feb. 3, 2024, in the one-mile, Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, where he was sent off as the 1-9 favorite in his first try around two turns. Jockey Flavien Prat patiently handled Nysos as the colt sat in third after six furlongs, and he then angled him out in the far turn to find clear running room for a closing rally. Nysos took over at will coming into the homestretch, and despite drifting out a bit, he was not challenged in an impressive 7 ½-length victory over stablemate Wine Me Up.

Nysos unfortunately suffered an injury after the victory in the Robert B. Lewis and was forced to miss the Triple Crown series and the rest of the 2024 season. He did not make his return to the racetrack until 15 months later in the Grade 1 $1 million Churchill Downs Stakes on May 3, 2025, on the Kentucky Derby undercard, where he finished second to Mindframe going seven furlongs.

Nysos completed his comback with a victory in his second start as a 4-year-old when he scored an easy win in the Grade 3 $100,000 Triple Bend Stakes going seven furlongs at Santa Anita on May 31. Nysos pressed the pace in a four-horse field, made the lead late on the backstretch and drew off to a resounding open-lengths score as the 1-5 favorite on the tote board.

Coming off his win in the seven-furlong Triple Bend, it was time for Nysos to stretchout to a two-turn route distance for his next start which came in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 $300,000 San Diego Handicap on July 26 at Del Mar. Sent off as the prohibitive 0.10-1 favorite in a six-horse field in the San Diego, Nysos stalked the pace throughout and made a move between horses racing into the stretch to get the lead before drawing off to a dominant 2 3/4-length win under wraps at the finish.

Nysos's following start was scheduled to take place in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 30 but a bruised hoof forced Nysos to be scratched on the morning of the race. Nysos was then pointed toward a start in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar.

Nysos made his seventh career start as the 0.70-1 favorite in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 1 and the race turned into a nail-biting thriller between Nysos and fellow Bob Baffert trainee Citizen Bull. After Citizen Bull set a fast pace all the way, Nysos closed in from mid-pack to challenge Citizen Bull in deep stretch. Nysos prevailed in a tight photo finish by a head bob with Flavien Prat aboard. The win raised Nysos's career record to six wins and a place in seven starts.

The 4-year-old returned after his Breeders’ Cup triumph for a final 2025 start in the Grade 2, 1 1/16-mile Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes Dec. 28 at Santa Anita Park. Sent off as the 1-5 favorite, he joined with stablemate Nevada Beach in a thrilling stretch duel and proved narrowly best to prevail by a head, earning his eighth career win overall and fourth in a row.

Nysos traveled to Saudi Arabia for his next start for the running of the $20 million Saudi Cup at about 1 1/8 miles on the dirt on Feb. 14, 2026, and ran a solid second-place effort behind the favorite, Forever Young.

Losing is rare in the career of Nysos, but he wasted no time getting back to the winner's circle in his next race when he returned Stateside and won perhaps the biggest race of his career with a victory in the Grade 1 $1 million Metropolitan Handicap June 6 at Saratoga. Nysos was sent off as the 1.47-1 favorite atop a seven-horse field in the Met Mile and he did not disappoint. He rolled to a four-length score over a field that included Knightsbridge, Journalism, and Antiquarian in a one-mile time of 1:34.85. Following the Met Mile, Charlie O'Connor, director of sales for Coolmore's Ashford Stud, said Nysos' victory "means the world to this horse. This is a real stallion-making race."

Nysos is out of the unraced Bernardini mare Zetta Z and is from the family of Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner and millionaire Unbridled Elaine and Grade 2 winner Etched.