Under a masterly ride from Flavien Prat, 7-5 favorite Nysos dropped off the early lead, then circled the field and ran off to a commanding victory on Saturday in the $1 million Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
The Met Mile was among the graded stakes undercard races leading up to the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1), post time 7:04 p.m. ET, featuring a rematch between Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Golden Tempo and runner-up Renegade.
The Met Mile win was the eighth in 10 races for the 5-year-old son of Nyquist, making his first appearance since finishing second to Forever Young in the Saudi Cup (G1) in February.
When the gates opened, Nysos bounded into the lead, with Antiquarian, Saudi Crown, and Knightsbridge pursuing him through an opening quarter-mile in a tepid 23.52 seconds. The pace quickly picked up, however, and Prat eased Nysos back into fifth as the second quarter went in 22.09.
Entering the far turn, Prat angled Nysos to the outside, and he responded eagerly, picking off rivals one by one to take command in mid-stretch and going on to hit the wire in 1:34.85.
“I bought my two best horses here,” said winning trainer Bob Baffert, whose Crude Velocity was second in the Woody Stephens (G1) to Englishman in the previous race.
“I’ve thought that [Nysos] was the best older horse in training. [But] that was a master ride.”
Nysos, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) for owners Baoma Corp., Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, earned an all-fees-paid trip back to that race with the victory. The winner’s purse for Saturday’s race brought his career earnings over the $5 million mark, the bulk of which came from his runner-up finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup.
Highweight under 126 pounds, Nysos returned $4.94 for a $2 win bet. Knightsbridge was second, followed by Journalism and Antiquarian.
“I told [Flavien] Prat you’re going to have to quarter-horse him away from there [the rail] - and he did, he got him away from there - but Prat, he knows the horse really well. He rode him with a lot of confidence.”
Deterministic wore down Rhetorical in the final yards and eked a narrow victory in the $1 million Manhattan Stakes (G1) on the turf for trainer Miguel Clement.
The 5-year-old Liam’s Map horse won this race days after the death of his father, Christophe Clement.
Sent off at 9-2, Deterministic, ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, extended his winning streak to five in a row.
Englishman, runner-up to Crude Velocity in the Pat Day Mile (G2) on Derby Day, turned the tables by winning the $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) in a runaway 5 ¾-length romp.
Crude Velocity, the favorite trained by Bob Baffert who was 3-for-3, ran solid race but could not offer a challenge in the stretch.
Englishman equaled the track record, covering 7 furlongs in 1:20.40, Darby Creek Road in 1978 of 1:20 4/5 (when races were timed in fifths of a second).
“It doesn't surprise me,” trainer Cherie DeVaux. “This horse is so fast that we kind of get a glimpse of it when he runs. He runs like that and almost broke the track record at Fair Grounds wrapped up, so the sky is the limit for him right now, but I believe that's at six and seven furlongs.”
Reef Runner ($12.48) edged defending Jaipur Stakes (G1) winner Ag Bullet by a half-length in the 5 ½-furlong sprint to earn an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland in October. He finished fourth in the race a year ago.
Trained by David Fawkes, the 5-year-old gelding ran his two previous races in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and his return home worked out well as he was given a perfect ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Book’em Danno ($5.72) has done it again at Saratoga – the popular 5-year-old champion sprinter cruised past the leaders in deep stretch and won the $400,000 True North Stakes (G3).
Trained by Derek Ryan and ridden by Paco Lopez, Book’em Danno raced just behind Bentornato and Listenupshance before taking charge to win by three-quarters of a length.
The New Jersey-bred went 3-for-3 at the Spa last summer, taking the True North, Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes (G1), and the Forego Stakes (G1). In his 2026 debut, he finished second by a neck in the Carter (G2) at Aqueduct on April 4. Book’em Danno improved to 18-11-4-1 with earnings over $2 million.
Classic Q ($14.44) went gate-to-wire, holding off France-based Mandanaba and favorite Segesta in the stretch for her first Grade 1 victory. The 4-year-old gray filly is trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, who on Friday won a pair of Grade 1 races at the Spa, the $500,000 Acorn Stakes with Counting Stars ($11.44) and the $500,000 Ogden Phipps Stakes with Nitrogen ($4), who blew away the field by 12 ¾ lengths.
Classic Q, ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, covered the 1-mile turf race in 1:32.84. Her record improved to 15-5-3-1, and her earnings topped more than $1.3 million.
Jenny Kellner is an award-winning journalist and teacher who has covered thoroughbred racing for years. As a reporter for both United Press International and The Associated Press, her work has appeared in publications and on websites around the world. Jenny has also written for The New York Times, the New York Post, Newsday and Sports Illustrated.
