The Saudi Cup is the richest Thoroughbred race in the world. Featuring a purse of $20 million, this run over the Middle Eastern dirt at King Abduiaziz Race Course in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia attracts some of the best runners in the world. That is exactly the reason American training icon Bob Baffert is sending Nysos to compete, because he is one of the best.
A son of Nyquist, this newly turned five-year-old has been lightly raced throughout his highly successful career. Injury and some other physical hiccups may have limited Nysos to just eight trips to the track in the afternoon, but those starts have all produced some scintillating results. Seven visits to the winner’s circle and one second place finish on a resume that features starts in seven graded stakes races speaks volumes about his quality.
“He has been a horse that has always shown brilliance”, says Bob Baffert. “He had the injury early in his career as a three-year-old and we just had to give him some time. There was never any surgery needed, just time and patience to allow him to heal.”
The lone blemish on the Nysos record came in the spring of 2025 in the grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes. Having opened his career in 2023 with a 10 ½ length score in his first career start, authoritative wins in the Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar ( 8 ¾ lengths) and Robert Lewis Stakes (7 ½ lengths) in February of 2024 followed. Nysos looked like he was well on his way until bitten by the injury bug. The comeback after over a year off from racing saw him come up just a neck short of victory against a stacked group of older horses on Kentucky Derby day.
“I really threw into deep water coming off such a layoff’, says Baffert. “It’s my fault he was beaten because I put him in against a really tough field and there was an off track. That was a really big ask coming back off such a layoff.”
Despite the huge hurdle, Nysos represented himself quite well in defeat. Bouncing back with a 5 ½ length win in the Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita on May 31, he continued to show his talent in the San Diego Handicap with a win at Del Mar on July 26. After another slight hiccup kept him from running in the Pacific Classic, Baffert’s charge showed his real worth with a determined win in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Fighting all the way down the lane with an extremely game Citizen Bull, Nysos got up by a head at the wire. Proving he is in fact full of fight, this grandson of Bernardini closed the year with another brawling victory in the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes at Santa Anita on December 28 winning by a head over Nevada Beach.
“He is a horse that knows where the wire is”, says Baffert. “Nysos is very intelligent and has all the makings of a really good horse. Those really good ones find a way to win.”
Highly regarded and with the resume to back it up, Nysos now prepares for the biggest challenge of his racing career. Facing some of the best Thoroughbreds in the world will be a daunting task, but Nysos looks to be one of those special talents and his conditioner has long been one of the best in the world at getting horses ready for a big race. Recent works have given every indication the “A” game is headed to the Middle East. Regular rider Flavien Prat is scheduled to have the mount.
“The Saudi Cup has always been our goal with this horse”, says Baffert. “The ship over is a challenge and it’s always a really tough race, but his works have been very good and he appears to be all systems go. “
The Saudi Cup will be contested at a distance of 1800 meters (just under a mile and an eighth) on February 14. This will be the seventh running and U.S. based runners have won twice previously (Midnight Bisou in 2020, Senor Buscador in 2024). The Saudi Cup is part of a racing festival worth in excess of $38 million. The winner of the Saudi Cup itself will take home $10 million.
