Nitrogen airs in Beldame

Far and away the class of the field as the 1-20 favorite, Nitrogen sailed through her Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) tune-up in Friday’s $242,500 Beldame (G2) at Belmont Park. 

The dual champion filly blew her rivals away the day before a powerful nor’easter was forecast to hit the region, prompting the cancellation of racing for Saturday and Sunday. Belmont’s six graded stakes originally scheduled for this weekend are postponed to next Thursday, Oct. 1.

Nitrogen seized command early and never looked back, although Donor Advised tried to make a race of it on two separate occasions. The stakes debutante attempted to go with Nitrogen in the opening strides before deferring, and she raised her game again turning for home, but the favorite was just too good. 

Under good handling by Jose Ortiz, Nitrogen dictated fractions of :23.89, :46.51, and 1:10.44. The Mark Casse star drifted out as she drew off, yet she was not in any serious danger from the hard-trying Donor Advised. Crossing the wire comfortably 2 3/4 lengths clear, Nitrogen finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.36.

“He (Manny Franco on Donor Advised) broke better than I did,” Ortiz recapped, “but I was committed to the lead. I followed the races yesterday and today – today, the first one won on the lead; yesterday the speed was holding pretty nicely. I felt like I had the best horse, and I wanted to go to the lead.

“She was traveling so well. I was waiting for the right time to let her go, and she started running. I knew I had it passing the three-sixteenths."

Nitrogen’s starboard drift was of no concern. 

“For me, she always does it, but as long as she keeps going forward, I’m good with it,” Ortiz summed up. 

Donor Advised was light-years ahead of the rest despite racing greenly at the top of the stretch. In a performance full of promise, Chad Brown’s lightly raced filly ran up the score by 13 1/2 lengths over Boutwell Time. 

“She ran well,” Franco said of Donor Advised. “The winner is so nice, and I’m just happy to have a placing for my filly. That was the trip I wanted. I wanted to stay inside and follow the other filly because we knew she would be tough.”

The other Brown runner, 8.08-1 second choice Lost Horizon, stalked early but faded to a remote fourth, and 53-1 longshot Lika Rolling Stone trailed.

D. J. Stable’s homebred Nitrogen improved her record to 18-9-6-3, $3,068,354. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro earned a Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion two-year-old filly after placing in the 2024 Natalma (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). 

Nitrogen was honored with an Eclipse Award as champion three-year-old filly thanks to her surface versatility. Opening her 2025 campaign with four straight stakes wins on turf – the Ginger Brew S., Florida Oaks (G3), Appalachian (G2), and Edgewood (G2) – she proved her dirt aptitude when demolishing the off-the-turf Wonder Again (G3) at Saratoga. Nitrogen added the Alabama (G1) along with runner-up efforts in the Belmont Oaks (G1), Spinster (G1), and Breeders’ Cup Distaff. 

Turning in mixed results at Oaklawn Park this season, Nitrogen rolled in the Bayakoa (G3) but was overturned at odds-on in both the Azeri (G2) and Apple Blossom (G1). She was back to her best at the Spa, dominating the Ogden Phipps (G1) and finishing second to Horse of the Year Sovereignty in the Whitney (G1). 

Nitrogen aims to go one better in the Oct. 31 Distaff at Keeneland, and the Beldame went according to plan, as her ideal set-up. 

“This checked all the boxes. It was exactly what we wanted,” D. J. Stable’s Jon Green said. “We wanted her to have a good, strong run for at least three-quarters of the race and then hopefully coast on in. Jose did a phenomenal job of making sure that we were out in front and unencumbered.”

“When he felt that Chad’s one horse (Donor Advised) was starting to come up on her, he asked her a little bit, and she went into the next gear,” Green continued. “The main thing is she looks like she came out of it in perfect condition, and now we’re just counting down the days (to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff).”

Casse saw it the same way.

“She’s amazing. This was what we were hoping for,” Casse said. “That other filly (Donor Advised) gave her a little run, and I thought it was nice. I wanted her to do a little something today, so it was good. She does like company, and that’s what was so interesting when she won by so far (in the Phipps). I was surprised because she usually likes company.

“I think this was perfect and what we’re looking for. We’ve got five weeks now; this (the Breeders’ Cup) was our goal in the beginning, so hopefully we can get that job done.”