Bob Baffert Pride in Nysos Falters as $1 Million Pacific Classic Sees Unexpected Withdrawal

“The main thing is to have him ready for the Breeders’ Cup,” Bob Baffert had declared to DRF in June as he was carefully planning out Nysos’ races. The iconic trainer had been prepping the 4-year-old colt to challenge the likes of Sovereignty, Sierra Leone, etc. at the Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 1. He has absolutely been in love with the Nyquist colt, who was supposed to give him 2 big answers at the Pacific Classic on August 30.

Well, that’s why the shocking news that came out of the Del Mar racecourse ahead of the race really left us perplexed. Nysos was scratched from the field that ran the 2025 $1 million Pacific Classic race. Arguably the most prestigious race of the Del Mar summer meet, Baffert’s Nysos was supposed to be a surety in the 1 ¼ mile race that also happened to be a Challenger race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

FanDuel Racing shared the news on August 30: “The ML favorite NYSOS is now out of the Pacific Classic (G1).” To break down the development were FanDuel co-hosts Caleb Keller and Curtis Kalleward, who spoke about how massive it was. Caleb Keller went, “Not only is it (Nysos) a Morning Line favorite, but you went from it being Fierceness, Nysos, Journalism, to a horse coming in off of an A- workout.  It was going to take a lot of play.”

It would have been a thriller, no doubt. But what makes the withdrawal absurd is that Nysos was an 8-5 favorite in the race. And as Keller described, “a horse that really had a huge chance.” Even Curtis Kalleward backed his co-host and the Kentucky-bred colt: “Based on the fact that he missed 15 months of racing, we can’t assume that he was the most sound horse, but he was traveling so well.”

Yes, that long gap after his G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes win in February 2024 was a mystery for the horse racing world, which wanted to see more of the Bob Baffert trainee. The colt has won 5 out of 6 races so far, all 3 before his 15-month hiatus. Everybody has been eager to see him take on the best horses of the season. And there was a chance at the Pacific Classic itself to take on Journalism, a Triple Crown race winner, and Fierceness, the 2024 Travers Stakes winner.

We are not sure what happened, but maybe some injury setback is involved, as Kalleward wished Bob Baffert’s prized colt a speedy recovery. If it’s an injury that forced the scratch, the 72-year-old trainer would be the most heartbroken. He had been talking about Nysos so much, full of hope.

Bob Baffert’s belief in Nysos to salvage the 2025 season

6-time Kentucky Derby winner, 2-time Triple Crown winner, and holder of the most graded stakes wins in North America, Bob Baffert is regarded as amongst the greatest trainers America has seen. And the winningest trainer in Del Mar sees something in Nysos. “Nysos, he’s always, you know, shown signs of brilliance,” Baffert said while speaking to FanDuel Racing a day before the race.

And it’s not just the eye test. As a legendary trainer and expert on thoroughbreds, Baffert spoke technically. “You know, he’s a brilliant racehorse, and he’s got a great mind. He’s not one-dimensional.” In fact, the versatility of Nysos could have been tested at the Pacific Classic. The 4-year-old has shown remarkable speed in his previous races, like in the San Diego Handicap. But Baffert has yet to test him for endurance over longer distances.

The longest race Nysos has run is 1 1/16 at San Diego. Baffert was a bit worried about how his colt would do over 1 ¼ miles. “The Pacific Classic was probably, if it was a mile eighth, we’d feel a little bit better about it,” Baffert had said earlier. But he wanted to throw down the challenge. “I think at a mile and a quarter, we’re going to find out if he can handle that. Then he can run a bigger class. If he can’t, there’s a mile or a sprint. You know, he could do either; he could probably do any of the three.”

Somehow, we feel Bob Baffert might just put Nysos in the Goodwood Stakes on September 27. It’s a 1⅛-mile race; it’s a Challenger race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Simply put, it’s perfect. Because come November 1st, whoever Bob Baffert chooses for the Breeders’ Cup Classic has to last 1 ¼ miles.