The buzz was all about Abashiri, but it was the other European shipper, the 23-1 Kensington Lane, who bossed the 1 1/8-mile feature on the front end at Saratoga.

Shippers from the Newmarket-based yard of Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby will add some international spice to the $750,000 Belmont Derby (G1) and $600,000 Belmont Oaks (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday.

George Messina and Michael Lee’s Fionn got up in the final strides to deny odds-on favorite Nitrogen and established a new course record in Saturday’s $500,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) at Saratoga, finishing 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:44.84.

What could prove to be an especially fruitful summer at Saratoga for the three-year-old filly Nitrogen continues on Saturday when the rising star looks to capture her sixth stakes win in a row in the $500,000 Belmont Oaks (G1) over nine furlongs on the turf.

the schedule would see those features back loaded on the latter half of the program. That's not the case, however, with Saturday's 11-race card at Aqueduct, as three of the four stakes are sprinkled throughout the card having gone with five or fewer entries.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Santa Barbara brought Group 1 form into Saturday’s $700,000 Belmont Oaks (G1), but she didn’t get to flaunt it until deep stretch.