Del Mar: Nysos steps into spotlight for San Diego Handicap

It’s hard to say a horse with the resume of Nysos is flying under the radar but he has yet to crack the NTRA’s top ten Thoroughbred poll despite winning four of his first five races by a combined 32 1/4 lengths. He broke his maiden by 10 1/2 lengths, then took the Grade 3 Bob Hope at Del Mar by 8 3/4 lengths and then clicked in his 3-year-old debut, the Grade 3 Robert Lewis, by 7 1/2 lengths. 

But then came the physical ailments that cost him the rest of his 3-year-old campaign and led to a lengthy 15-month layoff. He returned to the races on the first Saturday in May, due in part by the timing of those setbacks.

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“Being we were going to miss all the good stuff we just gave him some extra time off,” trainer Bob Baffert notes. “It (the Churchill Downs Stakes) was a good starting point so he would be ready for down here and for the fall for the Breeders’ Cup. We just timed it out so he’d be a fresh horse.”

The stunning bay colt by Nyquist will not be overlooked in Saturday’s San Diego Handicap (G2) where he’s the odds-on morning line favorite. The mile and a sixteenth San Diego is the local prep for the Pacific Classic (G1) on August 30. He comes into the race off of a 5 1/2 length victory in the Triple Bend (G3) at Santa Anita at the end of May. 

“I’ve been happy with him, he’s trained well down here,” Baffert says. “I don’t think the two turns will be a problem. We’re just taking it race-by-race and see how he does.”

Nysos suffered the one blemish on his resume in his return to the races in May. He missed by a neck in the Churchill Downs Stakes (G1) to Mindframe, the horse that is ranked first on the NTRA poll.

Nysos is set to face six other rivals in the San Diego, including stablemate Mirahmadi, named after the popular race caller. He’s coming off of a 4 1/4 length victory in a second-level allowance at Santa Anita last month. His last two ventures into graded stakes company were not quite as impressive, a 25 1/4 length loss in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) in March and a 19 1/4 length defeat in the Native Diver (G3) last fall at Del Mar. But he did run second to Prince of Monaco in the 2023 Del Mar Futurity (G1).

Hall of Fame is the out-of-town invader in the race. The 4-year-old son of Gun Runner won three straight early this year, including the Mineshaft (G3) at Fair Grounds. He’s gone up against a couple of brutes in his past two races, Fierceness in the Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day and 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in the Blame (G3) at Churchill. 

“We’ve had him for about five weeks now,” trainer Michael McCarthy says. “A very professional horse, a very straight forward horse. Obviously, a nice resume already. I think he was bought with the intentions of possibly running in the (Breeders’ Cup) Dirt Mile here at Del Mar. So the San Diego is nice place to get him started.”

Also entered in the San Diego is the Gold Cup (G2) runner-up and last year’s Cougar II (G3) winner Midnight Mammoth from the Craig Dollase barn. 

Express Train is looking to add to his sizable payroll, which is already over $1.4 million. The veteran 8-year old ran second in his last two races, the San Pasqual (G2) at Santa Anita in January and the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) five weeks later.

The 84th running of the San Diego is Race 8 on the 11-race Saturday card. Probable post time is 8:30 p.m. EDT.