Expectations and anticipation have surrounded Nysos throughout his career, but injuries and setbacks have kept him from reaching America's biggest racing stages.
When he finally had the opportunity Nov. 1 to break from the gate on one of those stages, the Breeders' Cup, he did not disappoint and earned himself his first grade 1 victory for Charlie and Susan Chu's Baoma Corp and Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
However, the victory was not an easy one. The son of Nyquist needed to pull out every ounce of talent he had to get past his Baffert-trained stablemate Citizen Bull to win the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).
"I think today was a very important race for him," Baffert said. "Everybody knows he's a superstar, he's been a superstar from the beginning."
Last year's 2-year-old champion male, Citizen Bull, set blazing fractions of :21.74 and :44.96. Yet, once dispatching the race's defending winner Full Serrano turning for home, he still had gas left in the tank.
Nysos was still loaded as well for Flavien Prat, and they treated the Del Mar grandstand to one of the most thrilling stretch runs of the day. At the wire, Nysos got his head down as the clock stopped in 1:34.71. The pair was 3 1/4 lengths clear of Chancer McPatrick , who edged Tumbarumba for third by a quarter-length. Nysos paid $3.40 to win.
The triumph was extra rewarding for the connections, who have exhibited nothing but patience. Considered a top 3-year-old, if not the top, ahead of the 2024 Triple Crown, Nysos missed the majority of his sophomore campaign after suffering a setback in March. More recently, he was scratched from a matchup with champion Fierceness and classic winner Journalism the morning of the Aug. 30 Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) with bruised hind feet.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Charlie and Susan, they're very patient," Baffert said. "I said we have to wait on this horse, let's wait 'til he's perfect, we're going to have to miss the Classic. Let's go for the (Dirt) Mile."
Following the Pacific Classic scratch, Baffert had tests and scans performed to make sure there was nothing more serious than just the bruised feet. When those came back negative, he began preparing the colt for the Dirt Mile rather than entering one of the toughest Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) fields of the century given he'd be returning from a three-month layoff since his San Diego Handicap (G2) win.
"It was too much to ask to throw him in the Classic," Baffert said. "He would've been very competitive. We saw today he would've been right there, but it wouldn't have been fair to the horse to throw him in like that."
Luckily for Baffert, patience is a strong trait of the Chus, who were willing to wait in the best interest of the horse. A horsewoman herself, Susan Chu believes that if you treat the horse well, they will repay you.
"My family, my children and I, all ride," she said. "We know how much they are talented, smart. When you treat them so well, when you love the horses, good things will come.
"We do our very best, to support any horses. It doesn't matter if he's a grade 1 winner or just breaking a maiden. I know our horses are family, and we do our best to support them to do their best job. ... This is our passion for this sport and for this wonderful animal."
Baffert praised the owners' love for their horses, citing how Charlie stops by to feed carrots to each of them whenever he flies in from overseas.
"It makes it easier for me when we have somebody that has patience," Baffert said. "They are very deserving of this, they know how tough (the business is). Today we were rewarded with patience and a great horse."
The win was a second in the Breeders' Cup for the Chus as they also campaigned 2016 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Drefong. Baffert earned his 21st victory in the Breeders' Cup—also winning Saturday with Splendora in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1)—to tie Aidan O'Brien for the most all-time.
Bred in Kentucky by Atkins Susie, Nysos became the third Breeders' Cup winner sired by champion Nyquist, who himself won the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Nysos is the fourth grade 1 winner this year sired by the stallion, whose 2026 fee is yet to be announced by Darley. He stood for $175,000 this year.
Baffert also praised the run of Citizen Bull, who is set to retire to Coolmore's Ashford Stud for the 2026 season.
"I saw those fractions, but it didn't seem like he was going that fast," Baffert said. "I'm just glad that he really showed up, he was champion last year. He's going out in a strong race, he got beat by a tremendous horse. I'm just proud of the fact that they showed up."
