Nysos battles Citizen Bull to the edge of the wire. (Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire)
Christian Abdo
Nysos and Journalism lead the field with over $4 million in earnings apiece and will face off in Saturday’s 133rd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap, for 3-year-olds and up traveling one-mile from the Wilson Chute, on Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga Race Course.
The Met Mile offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in October at Keeneland. The Hall of Famer Bob Baffert-trained Nysos won that event in November at Del Mar among his 9-7-2-0 career record with $4.7 million in earnings.
Nysos, owned by Baoma Corp., enters from a second to reigning Champion Older Dirt Male Forever Young in the about nine-furlong Group 1, $20 million Saudi Cup in February at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. There, the 5-year-old Nyquist bay was positioned forwardly by regular rider Flavien Prat in second position in the turn, but Forever Young snuck up the rail to the lead when straightening for home. Nysos fought back, but could not push by in the final furlong, settling for a one-length runner-up finish.
“He’s going to have to run well. They come out of the chute here, which can be a little tricky, but the horse is doing really well,” said Baffert, who won the Met Mile with Mor Spirit in 2017 and National Treasure in 2024, both by 6 1/4 lengths.
Nysos posted a 5-4-1-0 record last year, highlighted by his head score over 2024 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt stablemate Citizen Bull in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. His past campaign included wins in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Triple Bend and 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Laffit Pincay, Jr. at Santa Anita Park, as well as the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar.
His lone miss was a dead-heat with Banishing for second, a neck behind Mindframe, to launch his 4-year-old season off an over one-year layoff in last year’s seven-furlong Grade 1 Churchill Downs. Prior to that race, Nysos was a dominant 3-for-3, including Grade 3 scores in the Bob Hope at Del Mar and Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita.
“We know he’s a really good horse,” Baffert said. “We’re in it for the excitement and fun and to be part of a great weekend. If you can do it, it’s an honor to win the Met Mile.
Nysos [post 1, Flavien Prat, 126 pounds] breezed a sharp half-mile in 47.40 seconds on Sunday at Churchill Downs, where he’s been training since early May.
“He’s doing fine. I’m very happy with the way he’s trained here at Churchill. He worked well and he’s ready for it,” said Baffert.
Nysos, a $550,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, is out of the Bernardini mare Zetta Z, and his third dam is Grade 1-winner Unbridled Elaine.
The multiple Grade 1-winner Journalism [post 7, Jose Ortiz, 125 pounds] adds another chapter to his story for trainer Michael McCarthy and owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith.
The 4-year-old Curlin bay was third in his seasonal debut in the nine-furlong Oaklawn Handicap on April 18, defeated by 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic-winner White Abarrio and reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty. Journalism was second to the latter in last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs and Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets here, surrounding a win in the Grade 1 Preakness at Pimlico Race Course.
“He’s a happy horse. He’s a healthy horse and his training has gone to plan,” said McCarthy. “I’m looking forward to seeing how he does cutting back to a mile.”
Journalism holds a 12-6-3-2 record with over $4.4 million in earnings, including wins last year in the Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell at Monmouth Park and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, both at nine furlongs. Journalism hasn’t traveled less than 1 1/16 miles since his second start, a one-mile maiden win in November 2024 at Del Mar.
“It is interesting to cut back to one mile. This is a race we’ve had on our radar for quite some time,” McCarthy said. “This is a stallion-making race; he’s already made himself a stallion, but this would certainly add to his resume. He ran a very credible race last year in the Belmont here.”
Last out, the Oaklawn Handicap was run a bit differently than how most handicappers likely would have drawn it up. Sovereignty and Journalism, closers in the 2025 Kentucky Derby, were one-two, separated by a head through three-quarters in 1:11.27, while White Abarrio traveled off-the-pace and closed to victory under Irad Ortiz, Jr.
“I was surprised to see how that race took shape and where everybody ended up. I would say I was surprised by where everybody was going into the first turn and then turning up the backside,” McCarthy said. “I thought Irad made a wonderful move, easing his horse out of there, finding himself in great stalking position, which may have made all the difference.”
Journalism, an $825,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, is out of the multiple Grade 1-placed Uncle Mo mare Mopotism, who was third in the 2019 Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park.
Winning the Met Mile eluded Hall of Fame-trainer Bill Mott for nearly four decades, before he sent out Godolphin Kentucky homebred Cody’s Wish to capture the 2023 edition. Mott looks to double up on scores for the same connections as he sends out multiple graded stakes-winner Knightsbridge [post 6, Junior Alvarado, 121 pounds].
Knightsbridge dominated a trio of Grade 3s in the winter months at Gulfstream Park, including the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector in December, and the one-mile Fred W. Hooper in January and Gulfstream Park Mile in February. He exited to run a last-out sixth to Japanese shipper T O Elvis in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Churchill Downs on May 2. Overall, Knightsbridge is 9-6-1-1 with $513,155 in earnings; his first four starts, including open lengths wins in the first two, were separated by layoffs.
Knightsbridge has spent May training over the Saratoga Oklahoma dirt training track, where he breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 on Saturday.
“We finally got to a point where we could run him on a more regular basis. Before, we would get one race and then he’d be off for six months,” Mott said. “His work was very good and I’m very happy with him.”
The Nyquist dark bay has sported blinkers in his last five races, winning four during that stretch. He is a half-brother to the Mott-trained Grade 1-winner and 2022 Met Mile third placed Speaker’s Corner, out of the Bernardini mare Tyburn Brook, herself a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Highland Falls. Knightsbridge’s second dam is dual Grade 1-winner Round Pond.
Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher will send out Antiquarian [post 3, John Velazquez, 124 pounds] and Vibe [post 2, Luis Saez, 118 pounds] in search of his third Met Mile victory following Quality Road in 2010 and Palace Malice in 2014.
Centennial Farm’s Antiquarian captured the 10-furlong Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in August here, in a race that saw Ortiz, Jr. unseated from Mindframe, Sierra Leone shuffled back and White Abarrio slammed by the inward-starting Phileas Fogg. Antiquarian showed he wasn’t just a beneficiary of circumstance last out with an impressive 5 3/4-length score in the one-turn mile Grade 3 Westchester when making his 5-year-old bow on May 3 at Belmont at the Big A.
“He’s a really happy horse and doing great. He came out of the Westchester in good order and we’ll give the Met a try,” Pletcher said. “He’s surprised us a few times. He’s a little more tactical at shorter distances – I think his very best is a mile and an eighth, mile and a quarter, but he’s versatile and has enough quality to do well at shorter distances as well.”
The Preservationist chestnut is 11-5-3-0 overall with north of $1.1 million in earnings, including an additional graded score in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Peter Pan in May 2024 at the Aqueduct Racetrack.
“He’s a very cool horse, good to train, comes out of the gate and does his job,” Pletcher said. “He always trained like a good horse and showed promise from the very beginning. At the same time, we felt that as he matured, he’d continue to improve.”
Repole Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, CJ Stables, Woodford Racing, Lane’s End and Patrick McGee’s Vibe scratched out of the May 30 Grade 3 Blame at Churchill Downs to make his stakes debut in the Met Mile. Since a fourth on debut last March, the 4-year-old Into Mischief bay won his next three starts, all at one mile, including a Kentucky Derby Day optional claimer by three lengths last out at Churchill.
Bred in Kentucky by Repole Stable, Vibe, a $3 million purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the Grade 1-placed Empire Maker mare Nonna Mia, who produced Grade 1 Wood Memorial-winner Outwork and Nonna Bella, the dam of 2023 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and last year’s Met Mile runner-up Fierceness.
Rounding out the field are Grade 1-winner Saudi Crown [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 123 pounds] for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox; and 5-for-6 multiple restricted stakes-winner Rated by Merit [post 5, Dylan Davis, 119 pounds] for five-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Chad Brown.
The Met Mile is slated as Race 11 on Saturday’s 14-race card, which is headlined by the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in Race 13. Stakes on the agenda include the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan [Race 12], the Grade 1 Jaipur [Race 9] – a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint – the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun [Race 10], the Grade 1 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing [Race 7] and the Grade 3 True North [Race 8].
First post is 11:00 a.m. Eastern with admission gates opening two hours earlier at 9 a.m.
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