Nysos

GIII Robert B. Lewis S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) remains atop the leaderboard for week 7 as the NTRA's top 3-year-old in a poll released Tuesday. GII Risen Star S. winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) edged out Dornoch (Good Magic) for second with Timberlake (Into Mischief), Track Phantom (Quality Road) and Muth (Good Magic) also receiving votes. For the older horses, recent G1 Saudi Cup hero Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) took top honors ahead of National Treasure (Quality Road), Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and Newgate (Into Mischief).

We're at the two-month mark for the GI Kentucky Derby, and we're on the cusp of the major prep races getting extended to nine furlongs and beyond. Not all of the Triple Crown-caliber horses on this list, however, are pointing for the first Saturday in May. 1) NYSOS (c, Nyquist--Zetta Z, by Bernardini) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Baoma Corp; B-Susie Atkins (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $130,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $150,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $550,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 3-3-0-0, $216,600. Last start: WON Feb. 3 GIII Robert F....

The GII San Felipe S. last its headliner with the scratch of the Bob Baffert-trained Nysos (Nyquist), but Baffert still dominated the race with stablemates Imagination (Into Mischief) and Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso) running in tandem for much of the 1 1/16 miles and in lockstep down the stretch before Imagination just got his nose in front on the wire Sunday at Santa Anita. Of his one-two finish in the San Felipe, Baffert said, "We're trying to develop these horses, so it was good for both of them. Wine...

Within the past three months, the purses for all three Triple Crown races have been raised. Paradoxically, this increase in prize money has coincided with a 2024 prep race season that is uncharacteristically light on emphatic, leap-off-the-page contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S., and GI Belmont S. The first weekend in March has traditionally served as a launch pad for sophomores who figure to excel in the spring Classics and beyond. Of all the prep stakes currently carded at 1 1/16 miles, the two that have historically...

Between them, Irad and Jose Ortiz have accounted for four of the last six runnings of the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S., the third of three preps on the road to the championship meeting's main event, the GI Curlin Florida Derby four weeks down the road. The brothers will have every chance to extend that dominance as they partner with two of the top fancies in Saturday's $400,000 contest, offering the winner 50 points and a virtual guaranteed berth in the field for the GI Kentucky Derby. Jose Ortiz...

Edited Press Release The first pool to wager on the 149th GI Preakness S., middle jewel of the Triple Crown, begins Thursday, Feb. 29 and will close just hours after three major prep races are contested Saturday in Florida, California, and New York. When pools open at noon Thursday, 12 weeks before Preakness 149 at Pimlico Race Course, Baoma Corp.'s undefeated Nysos (Nyquist) will be the 4-1 favorite with the pari-mutuel field of "all other 3-year-olds" the 6-1 second choice. The first Preakness 149 future wager will close after Saturday's...

You may have noticed a change in the title of this column, from "Derby Top 12" to "Sophomore Top 12." Churchill Downs, Inc., has barred trainer Bob Baffert from competing in the GI Kentucky Derby, and that left us in a quandary over how to assess the nation's best 3-year-old prospects. It didn't seem right to dismiss the accomplishments of elite-level sophomores, regardless of whether they were eligible for the Derby or not. Nor did it seem proper to ignore the benchmarks their performances provide to help establish the overall...

Saturday's GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita was a big test for the Bob Baffert-trained filly and 'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Carpe Diem). She was coming off a scintillating maiden win in which she got a 96 Beyer, but was facing a much stronger challenge in the one-mile stakes. Not only did she have to prove she could go two turns, but she was facing another potential star in the undefeated Kopion (Omaha Beach), the winner of the GIII Santa Ynez S. On paper, this was a match race....

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale, which had never produced a seven-figure offering in its history, had three million-dollar mares go through the ring in an action-packed final hour of its two-day run in Lexington Tuesday. The final horse through the ring, Zetta Z (Bernardini), supplemented to the auction just Sunday, provided an exclamation point of the auction when selling for $2 million to Coolmore Stud. As expected, the dispersal of the bloodstock of the late Robert Lothenbach dominated the results sheet, accounting for the $1.3 million Bell's...

Zetta Z (Bernardini), who was added to the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale catalogue just Sunday, a day after her son Nysos (Nyquist) produced a dominating victory in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S., sold for $2 million to the bid of Coolmore's Adrian Wallace Tuesday in Lexington. The 14-year-old mare, consigned by Grovendale Sales, sold in foal to Cyberknife. She is from the family of Unbridled Elaine and Glitter Woman.

2023's Eclipse champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light) leads a list of 346 nominations to the 2024 Triple Crown according to a Tuesday release by the Kentucky Racing Communications Office. Last weekend's GIII Holy Bull S. third is one of 20 nominees owned by Repole Stables and one of 54 trained by Todd Pletcher to lead their respective categories. A further 18 horses were nominated by Bob Baffert and Brad Cox respectively. While the total number of nominees is down from last year, there are a record 47 potential runners...

Saturday's GIII Robert B. Lewis S. winner Nysos (Nyquist) jumped to the top of the NTRA Top 3-year-old Poll Tuesday with a near-unanimous 30 votes while GIII Holy Bull S. upsetter Hades (Awesome Slew) made his first appearance on the list in fifth. Muth (Good Magic) picked up a single first-place vote as well to check in second on the list behind his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate. Champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light) fell to third off his third-place performance in the Holy Bull. Track Phantom (Quality Road) filled out the...