Nitrogen Returns to Saratoga Seeking Another Grade 1 and a Ticket to the Breeders' Cup

The champion 3-year-old filly of 2025 will headline Friday's Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1), where she will take on several top-class rivals in pursuit of an automatic berth to Keeneland

SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (Special to Turf Diario).- Few racetracks hold more cherished memories for Nitrogen than Saratoga.

It was over this historic oval that the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro reached one of the defining moments of her championship campaign when she captured the Alabama Stakes (G1), a performance that ultimately propelled her toward Eclipse Award honors as the champion 3-year-old filly of 2025.

Now, back at the scene of that triumph, she will attempt to add another major accomplishment when she headlines Friday's Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1), one of the marquee events of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

The 1 1/8-mile contest carries a purse of $500,000 and offers an added incentive through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, awarding the winner an automatic berth into the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland this October.

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Nitrogen enters with a résumé that speaks for itself. Through 15 starts, she has never finished out of the money, compiling a record of seven victories, five seconds, and three thirds while earning more than $2.4 million.

Her 2026 campaign began with a convincing victory in the Bayakoa Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park, where she posted a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure. She subsequently finished third in the Azeri Stakes (G2) and then chased home the brilliant Claret Beret (Not This Time) in the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1).

Sadly, Claret Beret passed away days later due to a suspected cardiac issue.

"Her first race of the year was excellent," Casse said. "The second one maybe not quite as good, but in the Apple Blossom she showed her best form again. It's unfortunate what happened to Claret Beret because it looked like the beginning of a very interesting rivalry."

The veteran trainer knows Saratoga tends to bring out the best in his star mare.

"She really likes this racetrack, and the extra distance is definitely to her advantage," Casse explained. "She's also training extremely well."

The assignment, however, will be anything but easy.

Two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox will saddle a formidable pair of contenders. Alpine Princess (Classic Empire) arrives off a victory in the Doubledogdare Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, where she earned a 97 Beyer, matching Nitrogen's career-best figure. Stablemate Bless the Broken (Laoban), third in the 2025 Kentucky Oaks (G1), has remained highly competitive this season, finishing second in the Beholder Mile (G1) and third in the La Troienne Stakes (G1).

Another serious challenger is Regaled (Mohaymen), trained by Whit Beckman. A deep closer by nature, she finished third in last year's Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), only a half-length behind Nitrogen. After competing in the Apple Blossom, she now returns to a distance that appears more suitable to her running style.

Also deserving respect is Fully Subscribed (Tiz the Law), representing Chad Brown. The mare has shown a strong affinity for nine furlongs and opened her campaign with a solid runner-up effort in the La Troienne after compiling several important victories in New York last season.

The field is completed by Cassiar (City of Light), trained by Shug McGaughey, who recently finished second in the Ruffian Stakes (G2) and is still searching for her first major stakes victory.

With a Breeders' Cup berth on the line and several of the nation's leading older mares assembled in the gate, the Ogden Phipps shapes up as one of the most compelling races of the weekend.

And at the center of it all stands Nitrogen, the champion returning to the track where she achieved glory, determined to prove that her story is still far from finished.