Metropolitan Handicap Recap: Through the Gears

*Nysos (right) leads Knightsbridge and Antiquarian late in the Met Mile. (Samantha Decker Photo)*

Bob Baffert watched the Metropolitan Handicap play out like everyone else at Saratoga Race Course Saturday and had some questions.

“I hope he knows what he’s doing,” the trainer said to himself as jockey Flavien Prat let Nysos drop away from a four-horse scrum at the front of the Grade 1. “He’s either riding a really smart race, or he’s not running.”

Yes, definitely . . . and, uh no. Not a chance.

Nysos broke running from the Wilson Chute’s inside post and built a quick 1-length lead as Vibe dropped back and Antiquarian led Saudi Crown and Knightsbridge into the fray. Nysos led through the first quarter-mile, but right about when the :23.52 flashed on the screen faced a triple team to his outside. Antiquarian struck first. Saudi Crown lapped on to him and Knightsbridge rolled up three wide. Nysos, on the rail, went from first to fourth and was 2 lengths down after a half-mile in :45.61.

Knightsbridge swarmed past Antiquarian on the turn as Saudi Crown backed up and Prat moved Nysos off the rail. In high gear again, the 5-year-old son of Nyquist came off the turn in full flight and made quick work of the two in front of him as Prat threw three crosses at the three-sixteenths pole. Nysos handled it from there, drawing off to score by 4 lengths. Knightsbridge hung on for second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Journalism after a mile in 1:34.85. Nysos won for the eighth time (with two seconds) in 10 starts, and pushed his career earnings to $5,288,500 while making his case for a spot among the top older horses in training.

“I almost brought him up here last year,” Baffert said. “I didn’t do it, but we had this targeted. It takes a little bit of the sting out of that Saudi Cup. What a talented horse. I’ve always thought he was one of the best horses older horses in training, and today he showed it.”

A few beats later, the Hall of Famer set a lofty goal for the Kentucky-bred owned by Baoma Corp and the Magnier-Tabor-Smith team at Coolmore Stud.

“We’re going for the (Breeders’ Cup) Classic with him.”

Nysos won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last year, in a slugfest with stablemate Citizen Bull, and capped 2025 with a victory in the Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. going 1 1/16 miles in December. Next, he took on 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Forever Young in the 1 1/8-mile Saudi Cup in February and came up a length short. That, and a neck loss to Mindframe in last year’s Churchill Downs in the slop off a 15-month layoff, are the horse’s only losses.

Baffert will take his chance, especially after Nysos gave Prat more revs than a Formula 1 car in the Met Mile.

“It felt like down the backside, the pressure from the outside never really stopped,” said Prat. “I figured I had to give him a chance, knowing he was carrying 126 [pounds] and he hasn’t run for months, and it just played out good. When I tipped him out, he gave me a great run.”

Baffert credited brains as much as brawn.

“He’s really one of the smartest horses I’ve ever trained,” he said. “He’s just so cool and quiet. He’s just quiet . . . He’ll walk to the gate. You can put a kid on his back. That’s the way he is.”

Bred by Susie Atkins, Nysos had that from the start. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni signed a $550,000 ticket at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s April 2-year-old sale in 2023 after bringing $130,000 as a weanling and $150,000 as a yearling.

“He was just a cool dude, he was so laid back, so cool,” said Lanni. “There was something about him. We knew he was fast, he went fast, but he was a real plump horse and to do what he did and have that kind of weight on him was impressive. He kept his weight the whole time at the sale. Mentally, he’s just such a cool horse and that helps in races like that.”

Nysos, Baffert and Prat took the bows after the win, but Lanni saved some for Baoma’s Susan and Charles Chu as well. Nysos follows Grade 1 winners Drefong, Bast, Eda, Tenma, Varda and others to fly the silks.

“She makes her own luck because she loves horses and the most important thing is she doesn’t get involved with Bob,” said Lanni. “She just trusts Bob. She lets him produce the horse and she shows up to watch at the races.”