Consistency in sport is a tough one, especially as a trainer and not the athlete itself. And especially in horse racing, when there are a minimum of three factors considered at all time: the athlete, the jockey and the horse. Though last year was a good one for the legendary trainer Bob Baffert, who has the most Triple Crown wins of all time with 17, but 2025 hadn’t really been sitting too well with the trainer and his horses. Despite the 2024 Del Mar summer seeing 23 wins by Bob Baffert’s horses, 2025 was not looking too good, until now.

Finally, Bob Baffert has managed to score a significant win in this racing year with his horse Nysos, ridden by Flavien Prat, winning the San Diego Handicap and with a significant margin! “NYSOS wins pretty easy in the San Diego Handicap (G2). First time the horse has done two turns since the 2024 Robert B. Lewis 17 months ago.” Matthew Desantis, horse racing handicapper and equine advocate, posted to his X profile.

Considering this is the first time in seventeen months Nysos, the 4 year old colt and son of Nyquist, the winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby and 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, did a two turn race, the victory is pretty impressive. But that’s not to say it wasn’t expected, Baffert has said of the horse, “He’s a classic horse—he can go all day,” additionally, he seems to be one of the elite horses in training, just waiting to secure his grade 1 win. However, after this grade 2 win with the $300,000 from the San Diego Handicap, Nysos may be able to head into the Pacific Classic Stakes and rectify that grade 1 situation.

That is, if he doesn’t bump into Sovereignty and Journalism along the way!

Bob Baffert’s luck finally changes, but how can Nysos fair against Journalism and Sovereignty?

As mentioned, Bob Baffert was having a difficult season until now, with Nysos showing a lot of promise with this win at the San Diego Handicap. However, there are two horses on the circuit at the moment that seem to be leaving no room for others to win at the big ones, these are Sovereignty and Journalism.

Sovereignty, who won both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, as well as the recent Grade 2 Jim Dandy stakes this past weekend, seems to be on top of the game, and is now automatically qualified to take part in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Journalism, who managed a win at Preakness, where Sovereignty was absent, as well as the Santa Anita Derby and the Haskell Stakes, after coming second in the Kentucky Derby, seems to be a promising second place contender. So, where does Nysos fit into the larger picture?

While it seems at the moment that Sovereignty could race in the Travers Stakes on the 26th of August, whether or not Journalism takes the risk of re-racing Sovereignty or partaking in the Pacific Classic Stakes four days later is yet to be determined. In any case, we are guaranteed a little more competition in the coming month, with, Nysos, Bob Baffert’s secret weapon on the track!