Bob Baffert’s 2025 season had everyone buzzing with high hopes, but in the end, it didn’t quite live up to his legendary reputation. After coming back from a three-year suspension handed down by Churchill Downs because of Medina Spirit’s disqualification in 2021, Baffert was looking to get back on top in the Triple Crown races and find his way into the “winner’s circle” again. So, Citizen Bull, who was his top contender for the Derby, started off strong in the 151st Kentucky Derby but ended up falling behind and finishing far back in the pack. Meanwhile, Sovereignty took the win with trainer Bill Mott at the helm.
Another promising colt, Rodriguez, had to be scratched from the Derby because of a little foot bruise, which really puts a damper on Baffert’s chances. In the Preakness Stakes, Baffert’s horse, Goal Oriented, came in fourth, finishing behind the winner, Journalism. With Rodriguez back in action, Baffert is setting his sights on a successful Belmont Stakes.
In the meantime, he’s definitely not letting any opportunities slip by that could lead to another race win in his impressive career. Nysos, his colt, is set to make a comeback at the $100,000 Triple Bend Stakes this Saturday over at Santa Anita. This comes right after the colt’s first-ever loss at Churchill Downs in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes, where he finished in second place. “He ran well, he’d never ran on an off track,” trainer Bob Baffert said, stressing on that G1 loss. “He looked like he was going to win, then sort of flattened out that last 50 yards. It was a good comeback for him.”
After a whole year off the track, the colt did in fact make an appearance. Before the race at Churchill Downs, Nysos ran in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita last February. Well, that was a pretty great comeback for the horse! But Baffert has even more in store for his colt. According to DRF’s official website, the 72-year-old trainer shared his thoughts on his horse, saying, “I was looking at the Met Mile, but I thought two hard races back-to-back might be a little tough on him. He came back; he’s been doing well. We’ll run him here, then we can decide what the next move is.”
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Baffert wasn’t just thinking about the Triple Bend Stakes; he was also looking to run Nysos in the Metropolitan Handicap on June 7 as well. But since the races are happening on back-to-back weekends, he was a bit concerned for the horse. We’ll just have to wait and see if Nysos runs at the Met Mile. Baffert will be checking out how the colt performs first during the Triple Bend Stakes on Saturday.
The race is happening at Santa Anita, and before that, Nysos had a workout of 5F on May 23, finishing it in 59.20 and coming in 1st out of 14. Besides this race, there’s some good news for Baffert as he looks forward to his Belmont goals.
Bob Baffert got a positive update from his colt’s co-owner
In just a few days at Saratoga, the Belmont Stakes is set to bring some thrilling horse racing action, wrapping up this year’s American Triple Crown. So, it looks like Bob Baffert has his sights set on the race since it’s his last shot at making a comeback this year in the series. His colt, Rodriguez, was dealing with a foot injury that led him to scratch the horse right at the last minute for the Kentucky Derby, and he couldn’t even compete at the Preakness.
So, before the Belmont, there are really high hopes for the colt. Tom Ryan, co-owner of Rodriguez, gave an update on the horse, saying, “Lovely work from Rodriguez this morning at Santa Anita in 1:24.4 – Happy horse, extended nicely – he’s ready for a trip to Saratoga.”
The horse had a workout at Santa Anita and seems all set to head to Saratoga for that G1 race. Baffert really needed this, as he might finally get to see Rodriguez’s full potential, which has been missing since his last race at the G2 Wood Memorial Stakes.
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