Nysos rolls by four lengths in $1 million Metropolitan H. (G1)

Bob Baffert got his third win in the Met Mile (G1) Saturday at Saratoga in stellar fashion as Nysos cruised to a four-length victory over a top-class field of older horses.

Baffert’s previous Met Mile wins came with Mor Spirit in 2017 and National Treasure in 2024.

Nysos had the lead for the first three furlongs, then was allowed to drop back by jockey Flavien Prat when a trio of foes seemed intent on getting the lead. Midway on the turn, Prat took Nysos to the outside to make his run at Knightsbridge and Antiquarian. With a big sweeping move into the stretch, Nysos rolled to the lead and powered away to stop the timer in 1:34.85, just a tick off the track record.

The emphatic win earned Nysos a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 109 and was his fifth triple-digit figure in a row.

“He’s one of the smartest horses I’ve ever trained. He’s really smart, quiet and cool,” Baffert said. “The second time I ran him, he was so quiet it worried me. When he walks into the gate, you could put a kid on his back. He’s just so chill, that you don’t know [how good he is]. When Prat rode him, he thought the same thing. The minute you turn him to see the gate, he just blows up.”

Owned by Baoma Corp, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, Nysos is 8-2-0 in 10 starts and has earned $5,288,500. The 5-year-old won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and has his sight set on a bigger prize at this year’s Championships.

“We are going for the [G1 Breeders’ Cup] Classic with him,” Baffert added. “I think I might take him to maybe Del Mar. [GI] Pacific Classic, maybe. He runs well there or maybe the [GI] Whitney [Stakes]. I want to space out his races.”