Nysos blows past rivals, gives Baffert 6th straight Bob Lewis

Although he won’t be running in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, Bob Baffert’s Nysos laid down a sizeable 3-year-old marker on the first Saturday in February, as he accelerated off the turn for home and then galloped to a facile 7 1/2-length victory in Santa Anita’s Grade 3, $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes.

Ridden by Flavien Prat and now unbeaten in three starts, Nysos got a flat mile geared down in 1:36.65.

An important prep to both the Santa Anita and Kentucky derbies, the Lewis offers a total of 42 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, with 20 to the winner and 10, six, four and two points awarded through the fifth-place finisher.

In what is now developing into an open sore for American racing, Baffert’s runners, Nysos and runner-up Wine Me Up, are not eligible for the Derby qualifying points because Baffert’s runners continue to be ineligible to race at Churchill Downs.

Baffert, a continuing dominant force on dirt, chalked up his sixth consecutive Lewis win and his record 11th overall in the race named for one of his primary clients in the 1990s and early 2000s, who along with his wife, Beverly, owned Baffert’s first Kentucky Derby winner in 1997, Silver Charm.

In his first two-turn assignment, Nysos fell into a perfect trip as both Wine Me Up from the rail and Scatify, from his outside no. 7 post, were all-out for the early lead. With Mc Vay joining the pace party mid-way around the Club House turn, Nysos sat in fourth, about 4 1/2 lengths off Scatify passing the half-mile pole.

Asked to pick it up by Prat around the far turn, Nysos cut inside a tiring Mc Vay heading to the quarter pole and then tipped three deep at the top of the lane, inhaling both Scatify and Wine Me Up en route to the easiest kind of victory.

Most recently an 8 3/4-length winner of the Bob Hope Stakes (G3) going seven furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 19, Nysos had won his two sprints by a combined 20 lengths and was off as the prohibitive 1-9 favorite Saturday, returning $2.20, $2.10 and $2.10.

A $550,000 2-year-old in training sale purchase this past April, Nysos is owned by Baoma Corp. With the winner’s share of $120,000, he increased his earnings to $216,000.

Wine Me Up, the second choice at 6-1 with Juan Hernandez up, proved second best, finishing three quarters of a length in front of Scatify and returning $3.60 and $2.60.

Ridden by Hector Berrios for John Sadler, Scatify was off at 13-1 and paid $2.40 to show.

Fractions on the Lewis were 22.81, 46.67, 1:11.11 and 1:23.86.