Breeders' Cup Distaff: Nitrogen heads compact cast of nine
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No surprise on the pre-entry list could have possibly supplanted Nitrogen as a heavy favorite in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, making it all the more reasonable that no surprise came Wednesday.
The Mark Casse-trained filly was pre-entered alongside eight rivals who have long been expected to take a shot against her, many of whom are represented by horsemen who see second as a reasonable best-case scenario.
Before her easy victory in the Grade 2 Beldame, a light prep at Belmont Park last month, Nitrogen put together two of the strongest back-to-back performances of any horse in the country this year. In the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps in June, she dominated by 12 3/4 lengths and earned a 113 Beyer Speed Figure, only to come back two months later against male rivals in the Grade 1 Whitney, where she finished a strong second behind Sovereignty.
That summer stint made the 4-year-old a dominant force in her division, scaring off several potential rivals long before they even considered shipping to Keeneland. Casse decided to withdraw her stablemate, the 3-year-old filly Counting Stars, from contention in September, and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. pulled the Grade 1 Cotillion winner Bodacious Bay soon after.
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Fully Subscribed, who also was pre-entered in the Distaff by trainer Chad Brown, is generally considered to be the only realistic challenger to Nitrogen, having won the Grade 1 Personal Ensign with a 106 Beyer in August. She also won the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland earlier this month.
But in her last meeting with Nitrogen, the Brown trainee was on the receiving end of a drubbing in the Ogden Phipps, leaving bettors to rely on her improvement since.
In addition to Nitrogen, Casse also pre-entered Measure, who will stretch out to 1 1/8 miles after not being qute suited to the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion.
Splendora, the natural third choice trained by Bob Baffert, was pre-entered in the Distaff and Filly and Mare Sprint, a race she won last year. Baffert chose the Distaff as her first preference after three straight Grade 2 victories at 1 1/16 miles.
Trainer Whit Beckman took another step closer to his second straight Distaff start with Regaled, who finished third in last year’s race at 30-1. Just as she did in 2025, she is pre-entered in this year’s event off a commanding victory in the Grade 3 Delaware Handicap.
Joseph pre-entered the 4-year-old Eunomia, who won the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch on Aug. 1. If she carries on to the Distaff, she will do so without a recent start, having scratched at Delaware last month.
Only one of the nine pre-entered runners would ship from the West Coast, and trainer John Sadler said last week he still needs to see a little more from Super Corredora. If she wraps up training well at Santa Anita, the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner will travel after a resurgent victory in the Grade 2 Zenyatta last month.
Scottish Lassie and Immersive, distant finishers behind Fully Subscribed in that filly’s last two starts, also were pre-entered by Jorge Abreu and Brad Cox, respectively. Immersive earned a Win and You’re In berth by winning the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis in June.
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