Nysos back to dominant form in Triple Bend

Nysos suffered his first career loss off a lengthy layoff in the Churchill Downs (G1) last time out, but in the circumstances, he lost no luster. The Bob Baffert celebrity reiterated that point by running away with Saturday’s $98,000 Triple Bend (G3) back at his home base of Santa Anita.

Initially expected to ship to Saratoga for the Metropolitan H. (G1) on Belmont Day, Nysos instead landed in this relatively easier spot with a view to the future. The Triple Bend was his preferred springboard to the second half of the season. 

“He is so talented,” Baffert said of the onetime 2024 classic hopeful. “I know the Met Mile would have been a great spot, but his last race, you know, he needed it. Now, from here we can build and pick our spots, eventually on to the Breeders’ Cup. The way he handled it today, he didn’t take a deep breath.”

Only four rivals signed on for the Triple Bend, a number reduced to three following the scratch of Vlahos. The one plausible threat, Dr. Venkman, hadn’t raced since finishing fourth in last summer’s Pacific Classic (G1). Spirit of Makena hasn’t been the same horse since winning the 2023 Triple Bend, and three-year-old Smooth Cruisein needed more than an eight-pound weight concession to be competitive. 

Nysos performed up to billing as the 1-5 favorite. Not the fastest away from his inside post, the Nyquist colt was allowed to lengthen stride on his own terms. He repaid the confidence of new rider Juan Hernandez by effortlessly joining the fray by the time that Spirit of Makena clocked the opening quarter in :22.07. 

The field raced as a quartet virtually abreast down the backstretch. Nysos had his head in front of Dr. Venkman as they passed the half-mile in :44.29, with Spirit of Makena and Smooth Cruisein in close attendance. But the two longshots couldn’t keep up for long.

Dr. Venkman was the last one left to try to make a race of it, but the 2.60-1 second choice came under pressure at the top of the stretch. Nysos, in contrast, responded immediately on cue, and the only question was the winning margin.

Two lengths clear after six furlongs in 1:08.42, Nysos widened his advantage to 5 1/2 lengths under a hand ride. The superstar finished seven furlongs in 1:21.28 with the ease of a summer stroll. 

Dr. Venkman was considerately handled in an isolated second, 4 1/4 lengths ahead of Smooth Cruisein. Spirit of Makena was wrapped up on as he trailed home in a distant fourth. 

“The horse felt really good,” Hernandez said. “I only worked him one time, and he worked really good. I loved this horse. He broke so beautiful. He was right there and really comfortable. I just left him there because he wanted to be there. Around the quarter pole, I shook the reins and he took off. He’s a really nice horse, and you know Bob brought him in really good shape.” 

“Juan rode him beautifully,” Baffert observed. “The horse broke really well and he kept him up there. We are talking about a four-horse field. It is tough because you know you are going to be a big target there. He just inched him up there and he didn’t lose his spot and once he took the lead, you figured out the horse that he is. I am so proud to have a horse like this.”

Baoma Corp.’s Nysos boasts a stellar record of 5-4-1-0, $418,500. A smashing winner of the 2023 Bob Hope (G3) at Del Mar, the bay aced his two-turn debut in the 2024 Robert B. Lewis (G3) at this venue.

But his hopes of divisional leadership were dashed by injury, and Nysos didn’t resurface until the May 3 Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day. Aside from clashing with a bona fide Grade 1 field off a 15-month layoff, he faced the novelty of a sloppy track. Nysos ran a mighty race to come up a neck short to Mindframe, among last year’s top sophomores as the close runner-up in the Belmont (G1) and Haskell (G1).

“When he got beat,” Baffert said of the Churchill Downs comeback, “I really thought he couldn’t get beat, but he had a rough trip. He was jumping puddles, they were running on an off track.  But he came back well and he was pretty aggressive there for the first two weeks, then he finally settled down. 

“If you see him in the paddock, he is just so chill, so cool and he has a great mind.  It is exciting to have a good older horse in the barn. We have some nice mares and we have some nice three-year-olds coming around so, looking forward to next week, Belmont.”

Nysos was bred by Susie Atkins in Kentucky, and the public auction veteran went to his current connections for $550,000 as an OBS April juvenile. His dam, the unraced Bernardini mare Zetta Z, is a granddaughter of 2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner Unbridled Elaine, who is responsible for Etched, Emotionless, and Out of Bounds. This is also the family of mother-and-son Grade 1 scorers Glitter Woman and Political Force.