Nitrogen preps perfectly for Breeders' Cup with Beldame win

ELMONT, N.Y. − Nitrogen got the ideal prep race for next month’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, cruising on the lead early then turning back a mild upper-stretch bid from Donor Advised to win Friday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Beldame Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths at Belmont Park.

The victory, Nitrogen’s ninth from 18 starts, was more than expected, as the 3-year-old filly champion of 2025 went off at odds of 1-20, returning $2.10 to win. But the fact she was made to run a little bit when Donor Advised made a run at her in upper stretch made it a little more than a public workout.

“This checked all the boxes, this is exactly what we wanted; we wanted her to have a good strong run for at least three quarters of the race and then coast on in,” said Jon Greene, who along with his father Len, form D J Stables, which owns Nitrogen. “Jose [Ortiz] did a phenomenal job of making sure that we were out in front, that we were unencumbered when he felt like that [Donor Advised] was starting to come up on her he asked her a little bit and she went into the next gear.”

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Ortiz, riding for the first time at the new Belmont, believed the Belmont main track was favoring speed on Thursday and, after watching a front-runner take Friday’s opener, he was intent on getting the lead. Though Donor Advised, under Manny Franco, broke better, Ortiz sent Nitrogen to the front, setting fractions of 23.89 seconds for the quarter, 46.51 for the half-mile and 1:10.44

When Donor Advised tried to run at her, Ortiz went to his right-handed stick four times and though Nitrogen drifted out some, she did in fact coast home the last sixteenth.

“Very good prep for the Breeders’ Cup,” Ortiz said. “Obviously, going one turn, kind of weird for the first time on dirt, still she run very good [Donor Advised] broke better than I did but I was committed to the lead.”

Ortiz said that Nitrogen drifted out in the stretch of the Grade 1 Whitney last month at Saratoga when she was second to Sovereignty and she did it again on Friday.

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

Trainer Mark Casse told the New York Racing Association that he thought the race “was perfect and what we’re looking for,” he said.

Nitrogen, a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, covered the 1 1-8-miles in 1:48.36. The victory pushed Nitrogen’s career earnings to $3,068,354.

Nitrogen will now look to better her second-place finish to Scylla in last year’s Distaff when she heads to Keeneland as a fairly prohibitive favorite in the 1 1/8 mile race on Oct. 31.

Chad Brown, who is pointing Grade 1 winner Fully Subscribed to the BC Distaff, said he was proud of the effort in the Beldame put forth by Donor Advised, who did come in a little bit when trying to run at Nitrogen. Donor Advised finished second by 13 1/2 lengths over Boutwell Time, who was 10 1/2 lengths clear of Lost Horizon. Lika Rolling Stone finished last.

“She’s a much better filly than last year,” Brown said of Donor Advised. “We knew the winner was going to be a tall order. I’m proud of my filly, she wasn’t beaten that far, she stayed on and tried at least to make the winner run a little bit the last sixteenth which I’m sure the trainer’s happy about where he didn’t just have a walkover.”

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