Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said, provided all goes well in the coming weeks, Nysos will most likely make his next start in the $1 million FanDuel Pacific Classic Stakes Aug. 30 after he dominated the $300,000 San Diego Handicap Saturday at Del Mar. That could potentially set up an intriguing showdown with West Coast-based star 3-year-old Journalism in Southern California’s marquee summer race in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic division.

America’s Best Racing is exploring leading contenders for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships as things really begin to come into focus in summer and fall. This week we take a closer look at Nysos after his 2 ¾-length score July 26 in the San Diego as the overwhelming favorite.

Accomplishments: Nysos was a rising star in February 2024 – considered the front-runner in the 3-year-old male division – with three wins in as many starts by a combined margin of 26 ¾ lengths. Just as the buzz surrounding Nysos was building, however, he was sidelined with an injury and did not race again as a 3-year-old.

Baffert brought Nysos back from a layoff of 15 months in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes Presented by Ford, a seven-eighths of a mile sprint held on a sloppy track on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve undercard. He came up a neck short with a sustained rally that day, finishing behind elite older male Mindframe, but Nysos endured a wide trip in the race and was trying a wet track for the first time after 1 ¼ years away from competition.

Nysos regained his winning form in his second start of the year May 31 at Santa Anita Park with a 5 ½-length romp in the seven-furlong Triple Bend Stakes. He then stretched out beyond a mile for the first time in the 1 1/16-mile San Diego Handicap eight weeks later and proved much the best.

After tracking withing a few lengths of a solid pace while rating comfortably under Flavien Prat, Nysos completed the final quarter-mile in :25.08 and his final eighth of a mile in :12.40 under mild urging in the San Diego. He looked very professional while waiting for an opening entering the stretch and then accelerated willingly on cue to win the first Grade 2 race of his career.

“Once he got that little seam, I knew it was over,” Baffert said. “It’s just a relief that this horse won and hopefully the Pacific Classic [Stakes] is next for him.”

Speed Figures: Nysos has been a fast racehorse since his debut with Equibase Speed Figures ranging from 104 to 117 in six races and Beyer Speed Figures from 96 to 108. He did decline a bit from the 117 Equibase Speed Figure and 108 Beyer figure he earned in winning the Triple Bend Stakes (a sprint) to a 112 Equibase and 102 Beyer figure for the San Diego. Those are quality speed figures considering it was Nysos sixth start and first try stretching out in distance since his comeback. Still, it’s worth noting the decline in the longer race since the Pacific Classic and Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic both are held at 1 ¼ miles.

Looking Ahead: If Journalism stays on the West Coast and takes on older males in the Pacific Classic, it would potentially set up quite a showdown with Nysos. While Journalism’s last five races have all come at 1 1/8 miles or longer, the distance of the Pacific Classic will be the big question for Nysos.

“Can he run farther?  We’ll, you never really know until they do, but I get the impression he’ll be able to handle it,” Prat said after the San Diego victory.

Nysos’s sire, Nyquist, won the 2016 Kentucky Derby and his dam’s (mother’s) sire is 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini. He hails from a family anchored by his third dam (maternal great-grandmother), Unbridled Elaine, winner of the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. There is stamina in his pedigree but, as Prat pointed out, you don’t really know how a racehorse will handle added distance until they try and the Pacific Classic figures to be a worthy test.

Nysos has run two very good races on the main dirt track at Del Mar, so even if it turns out 1 ¼ miles is too long for him, he would be formidable to say the least as a contender for the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, so I’m buying stock in Nysos for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup.