Bob Baffert-trained Nysos one to watch in San Diego Handicap at Del Mar

DEL MAR — The first Grade I stakes of the summer meeting tops the program Saturday, with the winner of the Bing Crosby gaining an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at the seaside oval later this year.

But to racing fans, the 80th running of the Crosby probably isn’t the top attraction on Saturday’s 11-race schedule.

That honor falls to the Grade II San Diego Handicap, the stepping stone to the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 1.

The 1 1/16th-mile test for older horses features one of the more interesting horses on the grounds, the Bob Baffert-trained Nysos.

Flavien Prat has flown west to ride the 4-year-old son of Nyquist, who is the 3-5 morning-line favorite in the seven-horse field. Prat will also ride favorite World Record two races later in the Bing Crosby.

What racing fans are anticipating is a Pacific Classic featuring Nysos and Journalism, who returned west earlier this week after winning the Haskell Stakes last Saturday at Monmouth Park. Journalism, who also won the Preakness and Santa Anita Derby earlier this year while running second in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, could run in the Pacific Classic or the Travers at Saratoga as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In his most recent start, Nysos scored a 5½-length win in the Grade III Triple Bend at Santa Anita on May 31. Four weeks earlier, Nysos suffered the only loss of his career, finishing second by a neck behind Mindframe in the Churchill Downs Stakes.

But that race followed a 15-month layoff that wiped out a once-promising 3-year-old season. Nysos has made only five career starts — his four wins coming by a combined 32¼ lengths, including the 2023 Grade III Bob Hope at Del Mar by 8¾ lengths.

“I’ve been happy with him. He’s trained well down here,” Baffert said of Nysos. “We’re just taking it race-by-race and see how he does.”

World Record (Kentucky) and Crazy Mason (New York) have shipped in from the east to compete against seven other older horses in the six-furlong Crosby dirt sprint for older horses. A 4-year-old son of Gun Runner, World Record has two wins in his last four starts under Prat.

Leading the local contingent will be Hejazi (Juan Hernandez) and Dr. Venkman (Antonio Fresu).

Mark Glatt trains Dr. Venkman, a 5-year-old son of Ghostzapper who won the 2024 San Diego Handicap and later finished fourth in the Pacific Classic. He has runner-up finishes in two Grade III starts this year, one to Nysos in the Triple Bend at Santa Anita.

Hejazi recently returned from a 17-month layoff to run second in a June 13 allowance race at Santa Anita. But the 5-year-old son of Bernardini has some interesting credentials. In May of 2022, he was sold for $3.5 million to Amr Zedan.

The now-retired The Chosen Vron won the past two Crosbys.

Om N Joy a Fleet Treat

Jockey Kent Desormeaux made up ground with Om N Joy along the rail at the end of the backstretch and the turn, took the lead at the head of the stretch and easily won Friday’s $150,000 Fleet Treat Stakes, a seven-furlong test for Cal-bred, 3-year-old fillies.

It was the fourth straight win for the daughter of Om and her third straight under Desormeaux.

Om N Joy ($7.60) finished 4 1/4 lengths ahead of Hot Girl Walk (Drayden Van Dyke) with Lady Meldelssohn (Umberto Rispoli) third in the field of 10. Favored Drink This Cup finished last.

“It was like I was going 44 mph,” said Desormeaux. “She just continues to improve. I didn’t know she was that good, but she is.”

Trainer Aggie Ordonez said a clean start “was a big deal” for Om N Joy.

“When she got out of the gate clean, I took a sigh of relief,” he said. “Then you look at Kent. He was so relaxed and patient. She just gobbled them up on the turn.”

Notable

Followers of jockey Kazushi Kimura and Glatt were rewarded with a $74.60 daily double Friday. Not only did the winners of the day’s first two races each pay $8.80 to win, both Clampett in the matinee’s opener and Smart Code in the second race were ridden by Kimura and trained by Glatt.

• There will be a third stakes race Saturday. The $100,000 Daisycutter Handicap is a five-furlong turf sprint for older fillies and mares. Topping the 10-horse field is Pushiness (Juan Hernandez), who last year won the Fleet Treat on the dirt at Del Mar. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Pushiness ran second in the Irish O’Brien at Santa Anita. Prat will ride Phil D’Amato’s Uncorked, who has two Del Mar stakes wins over the past year. Also in the field is a second McCarthy entry, Spicybug (Rispoli).

• Speaking of openers, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer scored his first Del Mar win since Sept. 1, 2022, when Current Affair won Thursday’s first race under Hernandez.