Nysos scratches from San Felipe, will await Santa Anita Derby

Nysos, the brilliant and undefeated 3-year-old scheduled to run Sunday in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, has been scratched, trainer Bob Baffert confirmed on Saturday.

“I scratched him,” Baffert said. “I changed my mind. I’m going to wait, give him extra time. He had a big effort.”

The most recent start by Nysos was a 105 Beyer Speed Figure smasher in the one-mile Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 3 at Santa Anita. Nysos won by more than seven lengths, extending his unbeaten streak to three.

Nysos previously won the seven-furlong Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes by more than eight lengths Nov. 19 at Del Mar, and his career debut Oct. 21 at Santa Anita by more than 10.

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Baffert said Saturday that Nysos is fine physically. “In sports they have analytics; trainers, we have gut feeling. My original plan to was to just to wait. I don’t need to run him [Sunday]. I just might wait for the Santa Anita Derby.”

The Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby will be run April 6.

Nysos, owned by Charles and Susan Chu, is a colt by Nyquist widely considered the top 3-year-old in the country. His last-start Beyer is the highest this year by a 3-year-old, and matches the highest by a 2021 foal. Fierceness earned a 105 winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

The scratch of Nysos reduces the San Felipe to a field of four. The San Felipe, race 6 Sunday, includes two Baffert trainees. They are Wine Me Up, distant runner-up in the Lewis, and last-start allowance runner-up Imagination. The San Felipe field also includes the Lewis three-four finishers Scatify and Mc Vay.

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