Nysos blew by the leaders at the top of the stretch on his way to a 7 ½-length blowout win in Saturday’s $200,000 Robert B. Lewis S. (G2).
Nysos gave Bob Baffert his sixth straight win, and record 12th overall, in the one-mile race for 3-year-olds.
Making his first start since winning the Nov. 19 Bob Hope S. (G3), Nysos laid back off of an early quick pace on Saturday. Scatify and Nysos’ stablemate Wine Me Up battled through a half-mile in :46.67. Scatify was up a length on Wine Me Up midway on the final turn when Nysos launched a three-wide bid, blowing by the leaders and opening up easily. Under a hand ride in the stretch, Nysos finished the distance in 1:36.65 to earn a stellar 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He stumbled a bit leaving there, but he was in a good spot,” Baffert said. “ (Flavien) Prat rode him with a lot of confidence, he knows the horse well. I love the fact that he has speed and he proved he can do two turns. He has a great mind. He is a really good colt. You can just sit there and push the button at any time. It makes it so much easier for the riders, but I still get a little nervous.”
Nysos, who sold for $550,000 at last year’s OBS Spring 2-year-old sale, is owned by the Baoma Corp. The bay colt has won his three starts by a combines 26 ¾-lengths and has earned $216,600.