DEL MAR, Calif. - For Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, Saturday at Del Mar was a reflection of his stable’s widespread capability, the massive financial resources provided by his clients, and his ability to coax top-class efforts from high-profile Thoroughbreds.
First came Brant, a 2-year-old with unlimited potential, meeting high expectations in a maiden race.
Two hours later, Nysos won the longest race of his career in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles, closing from off the pace to claim a place atop California’s older horse division.
An hour after that, Hejazi finished a game second to the surprise winner Lovesick Blues in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs, showing why he belongs in the conversation among national sprinters.
Brant was purchased for $3 million at the Ocala Breeders’ sale of 2-year-olds in training in Florida in March, a record purchase for that auction company.
Owned by Amr Zedan, Brant closed from third of nine in Saturday’s race to take the lead in early stretch. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Brant pulled clear in the stretch to win by 5 1/4 lengths as the 4-5 favorite.
“I like the fact that he laid off horses,” Baffert said.
Brant worked a furlong in 9.6 seconds before the Ocala sale. The colt was briefly based with Baffert’s Los Alamitos stable before he was moved to Santa Anita in late April.
“We took our time with him,” Baffert said.
Part of the process, Baffert said, was teaching Brant to conserve some of his quickness.
“When you buy them at the 2-year-old in-training sales, sometimes you can’t get the speed out of their mind,” Baffert said.
“He’s really good.”
Brant ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.63, and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 101, one of six juveniles to record a triple-digit figure in races from five to seven furlongs this decade.
Five of those runners are trained by Baffert. Speed Boat Beach and Hejazi were given Beyer figures of 104 and 100 when they finished first and second in a maiden race at Del Mar in 2022, a year before Prince of Monaco earned a 103 after a maiden race win at Del Mar.
In 2022, Cave Rock earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 101 in a maiden race at Del Mar.
The only non-Baffert trained runner on the list is Munnys Gold, a filly who earned a 101 figure winning a maiden race at Monmouth Park in 2022 for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Brant, by Gun Runner, is the leading candidate for the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, a $300,000 race at seven furlongs on Sept. 7, the final day of the summer meeting. Baffert has won the Del Mar Futurity a record 18 times.
Hejazi, a 5-year-old horse by Bernardini, has yet to win a stakes in six starts at that level. The $402,000 Bing Crosby Stakes was Hejazi's 11th start.
Hejazi set a rapid pace, led by 2 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining, and was beaten 1 3/4 lengths by 18-1 Lovesick Blues.
“He ran great,” Baffert said.
The Bing Crosby was Hejazi’s second start of 2025 after a layoff of more than 16 months that ended with a good second in an allowance race at Santa Anita on June 13.
Baffert has major goals for Hejazi this fall.
“He’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint-bound,” Baffert said.
The BC Sprint will be run on Nov. 1, and is also a goal for Lovesick Blues, trainer Librado Boracio said on Sunday.
Hejazi, owned by Zedan, was purchased for $3.55 million in 2022, a record for the Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic sale in Maryland.
Baffert rates Nysos as a prospect for the BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Del Mar on Nov. 1. The 4-year-old colt easily handled 1 1/16 miles for the first time on Saturday under Prat, winning by 2 3/4 lengths.
Nysos is set to have his next start in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 30. The winner of the $1 million Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Classic.
Prat has ridden Nysos in four of his six starts, including easy wins in two Grade 3 races – the Bob Hope Stakes for 2-year-olds at seven furlongs at Del Mar in November 2023, and the Robert Lewis Stakes at a mile at Santa Anita in March 2024, the colt’s only start that year.
In the San Diego Handicap, Nysos stalked the pace on the rail and rallied between rivals in early stretch.
“He’s so cool and he’s got a great mind,” Baffert said. “As a racehorse, nothing bothers him. In the paddock, he’s like a pony – his head down and he’s quiet.
“You could ride him in the Rose Bowl Parade.”
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