Bob Baffert does not run away when faced with pressure, but on Sunday at Santa Anita, he is playing a gamble he himself knows is a gamble of high stakes. Baffert, fresh off a historic weekend win at Del Mar, where he won his 12th Debutante with Bottle of Rouge and his 19th Futurity with Brant, now bets $200,000 in the Zenyatta Stakes. A win will guarantee a place in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on November 1, and Baffert is not letting this slip by. This time, he is riding a true gambler, into a horse that has not been racing in months, into a strong, hungry field.

Everyone is watching Cavalieri, the 4-year-old daughter of Nyquist, who is undefeated in all her races. It is her first race since her exciting Grade 1 win in the Beholder Mile (in March) when she beat her own stablemate, Richi, by three-quarters of a length and broke the stakes record at 1:34.96. She won the G3 La Canada Stakes earlier this year, her first stakes, and she has already earned more than $318,000. She is also accompanied by Juan Hernandez, who has been her jockey in all her victories. Coming back after a break of months is a risk, and so is the case with a legend like Baffert. A single slip might cost them a Zenyatta as well as an opportunity to compete in the Breeders’ Cup.

The remainder of the field is going to be fireworks. Sugar Fish, last year’s Zenyatta winner, is also looking to be crowned once again. On Sept. 1 at Del Mar in the Tranquillity Lake Stakes, Sugar Fish finished fifth, with regular rider Tyler Baze in the saddle. The 5-year-old Chilean-bred Richi, who is in form after a break, ran second in the Beholder Mile and G2 Santa Maria in April.

Making her U.S. debut is La Kika, a 4-year-old Peruvian import and G1 winner on both dirt and turf, with Hector Berrios aboard. While this lineup could seem favorable to Bob Baffert, he might still have the edge in the Breeders’ Cup with his other horses. His stable could also send out Goal Oriented, Nysos, Citizen Bull, Seismic Beauty, Brant, and Desert Gate, all potential Breeders’ Cup qualifiers. That means his gamble isn’t just about one horse as Nysos has already been showing everyone why he’s everyone’s favorite this year.

Nysos stays out of the Classic, but Bob Baffert’s champion is still the one to beat

Baoma Corp’s Nysos was the favorite for a reason. The son of Nyquist has been unstoppable this year, blazing through the G3 Triple Bend Stakes in May and dominating the Grade 2 San Diego Stakes in July. His sole career setback had happened weeks before, in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes, which hardly slowed his progress.

Nysos, having been scratched in the G1 Pacific Classic because of a slight foot bruise, came back to Santa Anita on Sept. 22 and worked four furlongs in 48.00 seconds, which indicates that he is sharp, ready, and in fine shape. Bob Baffert told Daily Racing Form that he is training well. “We’re still shooting for it. This horse has everything it takes.”

This season’s favorite was initially planned to run the Breeders’ Cup Classic but was diverted by timing and plan. Coming out of the Pacific Classic scratch, Bob Baffert and his team concluded that he would be more at home in either the Dirt Mile or the six-furlong Sprint, where he is more likely to control the situation since he can be fast, particularly explosive. Although he will not be opposing the Classic field, Nysos is, perhaps, the strongest competitor in the fall series, which can only prove that even beyond the prestigious race, he is a man that few others will be able to deal with.