BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 1, 2025

Bob Baffert

Susan Chu

Charles Chu

Donato Lanni

Del Mar Fairgrounds

Dirt Mile

Press Conference

Dirt Mile

THE MODERATOR: Down in the post-race press conference. Bob Baffert joining us after his second Breeders' Cup win of the day. When you were here earlier, we remarked how you were one behind -- come on in, Susan Chu. Congratulations. We've got Susan Chu, co-owner joining us, and Donato Lanni, racing manager, and Charles Chu as well.

BOB BAFFERT: Notice how well dressed Charles Chu is. Isn't he dapper?

THE MODERATOR: Bob, just to finish up what we were saying, this win now ties you at least until -- for at least 16 minutes, with Aidan O'Brien as the winningest Breeders' Cup trainer. He's got a runner coming up in this race. If you could comment on that, and then we'll get into the specifics of this race.

BOB BAFFERT: I think more important is the excitement that horses showed up, they ran. Those horses put on a show. Coming down the stretch, I knew I was going to win. But watching Citizen Bull, proud of the fact that last year he was champion, and sort of didn't do a whole lot after that, but he started coming back. I knew he was coming up to a big race.

To watch Nysos, that's a hard -- first time he's had to really get on his belly and show up. He ran down a champion, and it was exciting. It was thrilling. I was sitting next to Susan and Charlie and one of the owners of Citizen Bull was to my right. It was exciting to watch.

You just hate to see that like -- a dead heat would have been fine. I would love to see them split it. You hate to see one of them get beat, but what a thrilling race it was. So proud of both horses.

THE MODERATOR: Specifically, regarding Nysos, there's been some starts and stops along the way, but how gratifying is it to get that Grade 1 win you've wanted for him for so long?

BOB BAFFERT: Nysos has probably been the most sought-after horse. All these farms keep calling, We want Nysos, and this and that, and then when we miss a race, whatever.

I've got to give a lot of credit to Charlie and Susan. They're very patient. I said, look, we have to wait on this horse. Let's wait until he's perfect. We're going to have to miss the Classic. We'll go for the Mile, and let's get it.

I think today was a very important race for him. It was his first Grade 1 race, but everybody knows he's a superstar. He was a superstar from the beginning. I have to give them credit. They've been with me, loyal clients, and they're very patient -- they love their horses. Horses come first.

It makes it easier for me when you have somebody that will have the patience. And she's a horse woman. She rides horses, right?

THE MODERATOR: For the Chus, either of you can answer this, just kind of a similar question. You had with Nysos, so many high expectations as a 3-year-old. You had to wait on him to come back this year. What did it mean for you to have him win a Grade 1 race today?

SUSAN CHU: I think that really means so much for our family. We've been doing this horse racing just like all our life because all my family, my children and I, we're all riding. So we know how much they are talent and they are smart. When you really treat him so well, just like people tell me, when you love horses, good things will come.

So we always know we do our very best to support any horses. It doesn't matter he is a Grade 1 winner or just breaking a maiden, but I do know our horses are family, and we do our very best to support them to do their best job. Then every day for any reason couldn't make it, then we will try to make them the best life forever.

I think this is our passion for this sport and also for such a wonderful animal.

THE MODERATOR: Mr. Chu, if I could ask you, Bob alluded to farms calling regarding this horse. He now has a Grade 1 win. Have you guys had any discussions about what the future will be for Nysos after today?

CHARLES CHU: Not really. Depends on Bob, yeah.

BOB BAFFERT: I'm his interpreter. As long as Nysos is healthy -- you know, you never know what's going to happen. Charlie, when he flies over from overseas, he always stops to give carrots to his horses. He'll stop, spend the day. That's how much they love their horses. They're very deserving of this, and they know how tough -- they've seen the highs and the lows of the sport.

Every once in a while, I have to give her a little pep talk, but she comes out of it. It's a tough business. Today we were rewarded with patience and a great horse.

THE MODERATOR: Donato, one for you, and I'll go to the members of the media who are here. It seems the business model that you have with the Chus is quality over quantity. Is that a fair assessment of how you approach things with them?

DONATO LANNI: That's how she wants it, and that's how Bob wants it. We're very selective what we try to buy every year. She's very good, when we tell her this is the horse, she says, okay, okay, and that means yes. Take a lot of credit for letting us buy the horses we want to buy.

Bob, his training job on this horse was unbelievable. He's so patient. Susan left him alone, and it's one of Bob's best training jobs I've seen. It's amazing.

Q. Bob, obviously he missed the Pacific Classic last time off, so he was coming in off a little bit of a layoff. How did you get him ready for that, especially how hard he battled down the stretch?

BOB BAFFERT: For the Pacific Classic, he wasn't right. His feet, his hind feet were really bruised. So we had to get him over that. So then I was trying to get him to the Goodwood, and he just still -- so we gave him the time.

Before I started with anything, we did all the scanning, to make sure we weren't missing something, and it was definitely the feet. He needed a month for them to get right, and then he was training -- after that, he was training great.

It was too much to ask to throw him in the Classic. I think that would have been -- and he would have been very competitive, as we saw today. He would have been right there. But it wouldn't have been fair to the horse to just throw him in like that.

Q. As the race progressed, when they threw those fractions up early, what were your thoughts watching all your horses and seeing that kind of pace?

BOB BAFFERT: I talked to the jockeys, and Prat, he said, Citizen Bull, he does his best around the lead. He asked me is he going to go, and he's going to go. He was training really well, Citizen Bull.

When I saw those fractions, for some reason it didn't look like he was going that fast. They were going along, but he was doing it the right way. But then when he was turning for home, he still had a lot left, and I thought, wow, he's -- I could tell Prat, first thing he told me when he came back, he told me he was going to go, but you didn't tell me he was going to keep going. He kept waiting for him.

But Citizen Bull, I'm just glad he really showed up. He was champion last year, and he's going out in a strong -- he got beat by just -- it was a tremendous horse race. I'm just proud of the fact that they showed up.

That's all a trainer can ask for is that your horses show up on the big day. That's what we're all about. We just got it done. It was close, but I'm happy for everybody.