Nysos edges Citizen Bull in Dirt Mile, Baffert earns record-tying BC win

Nysos wore down pacesetter Citizen Bull in the deep stretch and prevailed by a head in the $900,000 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar, earning his first Grade 1 victory and leading a Bob Baffert-trained exacta. Winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) earlier on the program, the Hall of Fame trainer notched a record-equaling 21st Breeders’ Cup race win, tying Irish-based Aidan O’Brien, who was shut out Saturday after winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) Friday.

“It should have been a dead heat! Baffert said. “I knew I was going to win. Citizen Bull caught another gear and Nysos – he hadn’t run in a while – he dug in and it was just unbelievable. We work so hard and there are so many ups and downs, and you just want to be able to cheer for them coming down the stretch.”

Flavien Prat was up on Nysos, who was making his first appearance since winning the San Diego (G2) at Del Mar in late July, and left the starting gate as the 7-10 favorite among eight rivals. The four-year-old colt improved to 6-for-7 in his career, the lone setback a dead-heat neck second in the Churchill Downs (G1) on May’s Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard after a 15-month layoff, and Nysos has now bankrolled more than $1.1 million.

Campaigned by Baoma Corp. (Charles and Susan Chu), Nysos completed the two-turn mile in 1:34.71.

“I was pleased with my trip and was traveling well,” Prat said. “The pace was strong, but I was able to make up a lot of ground. When I got in the clear, I thought I had the measure of Citizen Bull, but he gave me a good run, and Citizen Bull ran well. At the wire, I thought I was ahead of him, but (the photo finish) got me worried.”

Nysos stalked up close on the inside as last year’s champion two-year-old male and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner, Citizen Bull, sped to the front and established a hot pace (:21.74, :44.96, and 1:09.08) on a short lead. Nysos advanced on the far turn and swung two-wide into the stretch alongside Citizen Bull, who battled gamely to the wire but ultimately came up a little short. 

“That Citizen Bull, he looked like a champion that he was last year,” Baffert said. “Nysos is a great horse. It was actually his first Grade 1 win; a lot of people thought he was a superstar. They were on their bellies, and they ran … what a race. It’s a shame that one of them had to lose.”

Nysos opened his racing career in late 2023, winning his first three starts, including the Robert B. Lewis (G3) in his three-year-old opener, by 26 1/4 combined lengths, but he was sidelined last spring. The bay Kentucky-bred has now won three consecutive races.

Citizen Bull, the 5.60-1 third choice, held second by 3 1/4 lengths over late-running Chancer McPatrick. Tumbarumba closed to be another neck back in fourth, and 2024 Dirt Mile winner Full Serrano, Goal; Oriented, Will Take It, and Touch of Destiny rounded out the order of finish.

By 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist, Nysos was bred in Kentucky by Susie Atkins and purchased for $550,000 at the 2023 OBS April two-year-old sale. He’s out of the unraced Bernardini mare Zetta Z and counts 2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner Unbridled Elaine as his third maternal dam. 

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