By admin 
D.J. Stable’s Kentucky-bred Nitrogen will make her third appearance at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships when she headlines a talented field in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Read more Do I have to pay to watch the Valkyries-Aces Game 3 in the Bay Area?
Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro bay made her last three outings in New York, including a pair of memorable Grade 1 starts at Saratoga Race Course with a 12 3/4-length romp in the Ogden Phipps presented by Ford and a runner-up effort to reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty while facing males in the Whitney.
Her Ogden Phipps effort earned a career-best 113 Beyer Speed Figure, with the Chad Brown-trained runner-up Fully Subscribed exiting that race to win three graded events, including a pair of G1s.
Nitrogen had her final Breeders’ Cup prep at Belmont Park, wiring a field of five to score by 2 ¾ lengths under regular rider Jose Ortiz in the G2 Beldame on Sept. 25.
“We shipped her down to Kentucky on Wednesday and she trained this morning at Keeneland. She’s doing well,” Casse said. “I thought the Beldame was a good race. I liked the timing. It looks like a showdown between her and Chad’s filly.”
Casse said he has no intention of dulling Nitrogen’s abundant early foot in a Distaff field expected to have other potential pace types.
“She’ll be pretty close. We may slow her down a little bit but we’re not going to take hold of her. We’re going to let her do her thing,” Casse said.
Nitrogen has banked in excess of $3 million through an 18-9-6-3 record that includes a trio of graded wins on turf and five graded wins on dirt. Her previous Breeders’ Cup attempts came at Del Mar, including a closing third as a maiden in the 2024 Juvenile Fillies Turf and a runner-up try to Scylla in last year’s Distaff.
While Casse hopes she can go one better in the Distaff at Keeneland, he’s buoyed by the fact that D. J. Stable plans to bring back the reigning Champion 3-Year-Old Filly for another season of racing next year.
“That’s the plan as long as she’s healthy out of the Breeders’ Cup,” Casse said. “Our sport needs its stars and she’s definitely a star. I commend the Greens for being the sportsmen they are.”
Gary Barber, Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ late-running Measure has hit the board in each of her last four outings – the last three in G1 company – and will look to capitalize on a potential pace battle in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
The 3-year-old daughter of Essential Quality finished third in the nine-furlong G1 Coaching Club American Oaks won by stablemate Counting Stars in July at Saratoga to begin her streak of top-flight tilts. She followed with a neck second to My Gun’s Loaded in the Spa’s 10-furlong Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales on Aug. 22 ahead of a closing third in the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion on Sept. 19 at Parx when in tight approaching the three-eighths.
“She’s a filly that we were high on from the beginning. I wasn’t that disappointed with her earlier on in the year, I just thought she needed to get her act together and needed some pace,” Casse said. “Her Alabama was a huge race, and she got very unlucky in the Cotillion. She’ll enjoy the mile and an eighth and will also enjoy a hot pace, which looking at the Distaff it’s looking like it will be fairly lively.”
Manny Franco will retain the mount on Measure.
Gary Barber, Blue Crevalle Racing and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Classic Q was initially considered for a Breeders’ Cup start versus males in the Mile but will instead target the Filly and Mare Turf at 1 3/16 miles.
The 4-year-old Classic Empire grey has won 3-of-6 starts this year, including frontrunning scores in the G2 Distaff Turf Mile in May at Churchill Downs and the G1 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing on June 6 at Saratoga. She secured her second career G1 last out with a stalking nose score over Lush Lips in the one-mile First Lady on Oct. 3 at Keeneland.
“We thought about the Mile but we’re going to run her against the girls,” Casse said. “I would think with the mile and three-sixteenths that more than likely she’ll be on the lead.”
Hall of Famer Javier Castellano takes over aboard Classic Q from fellow Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who is committed to Gimma a Nother.
D.J. Stable will also be represented by Voyager in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
The Justify bay ran second in her first two outings on dirt, including a runner-up try to Harper’s Corner in the Listed Schuylerville on July 3 at the Spa.
Voyager then shifted to the Saratoga turf on Aug. 1 and stretched out to a two-turn 1 1/16-miles to post a frontrunning nose score over Correlation Trade. The third-place finisher of that event, Bittersweet Memory, exited to graduate at Saratoga and followed with a fourth-place run in the G2 Miss Grillo here last weekend.
Read more Braga vs. Sporting Lineups, Live Streaming, How & Where to Watch on TV
Voyager enters the Breeders’ Cup from a 1 1/4-length win in the G1 Natalma contested at a one-turn mile over firm E.P. Taylor turf on Sept. 12 at Woodbine.
Casse said the Spa turf experience will be beneficial for Voyager as she goes back to two turns for the one-mile Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“When she broke her maiden at Saratoga, I was happy because we were able to get a two-turn race into her. We went back to one-turn for the Natalma, but I feel she’s very versatile. Her race in the Natalma was really good and she’s training really well,” Casse said.
Casse enjoyed a winning barn debut Thursday for world-traveler Facteur Cheval, who scored by a half-length under Irad Ortiz, Jr. in a 1 1/16-mile Keeneland allowance for owners Team Valor International and Gary Barber.
The 7-year-old Ribchester gelding has banked in excess of $5.7 million through a 28-7-7-6 ledger topped by a win in the 2024 G1 Dubai Turf. He landed a deep-closing sixth in the G3 Mint Millions on Sept. 7 at Kentucky Downs for his former trainer Jerome Reynier.
“We took him over right after that race. Barry [Irwin] had mentioned to us going into yesterday’s race that you need to get him into the race,” Casse said. “We let Irad know you need to be aggressive early on with him and get him into the race and you saw that yesterday. It made the difference. It’s a privilege to have that horse in the barn.”
Facteur Cheval will point to the G3 River City on Nov. 7 at Churchill Downs.
Casse enjoyed his second win at the new Belmont Park on Wednesday when Gary Barber’s Ori wired a one-mile turf starter optional-claimer in her first start for new connections after being haltered for $45,000 from an optional-claiming win in September at Saratoga.
With Castellano aboard, the 5-year-old Hard Spun chestnut zipped through splits of 22.39 seconds, 45.09 and 1:09.48 en route to a 6 1/4-length score in 1:33.35. The winning effort returned an 86 Beyer – four points shy of a career-best 90 earned from a runner-up try in the 2024 Listed Winter Memories at Belmont at the Big A.
Ori is out of the stakes-winning Pioneerof the Nile mare Princessof the Nyl. Her stakes-winning third dam, Arabis, is a full-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Atelier and a half-sister to G1 winner Aldiza.
“We don’t claim very many. She’s unique in that we thought she looked like she had ability running, but we also claimed her to be a broodmare,” Casse said. “If she keeps running the way she ran the other day, she may run another year.
“Javi called me after the race and said, ‘she was impressive.’ Normally I call him, but he called me,” Casse added, with a laugh.
Ori will likely point to the Listed $175,000 Noble Damsel, a one-mile turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on Nov. 27 here.
Casse indicated he will have a big presence in New York this winter for a meet that will be contested exclusively over Tapeta. His significant stock will include a number of horses with past Tapeta experience at Woodbine, whose season comes to a close on Dec. 13.
“The plan is to keep 40 or 50 there all winter long,” Casse said. “We may keep a few of the grass horses there to see how they get over the Tapeta – most of the time, they will.”
A handful of off-the-turf races have been contested over Tapeta at the Belmont fall meet.
“I know just watching it I’ve been impressed,” Casse said. “More and more horses will try it and there will be ones that will like. It will be very competitive.”
The stakes schedule for the Belmont Park winter meet was announced on Wednesday. For the full stakes schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/stakes-schedule/.
Additional news, notes, advances and recaps are available at: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/news/.
Read more New York Jets Say Breece Hall, Adonai Mitchell Out For Sunday
For more information about the new Belmont Park, visit NewBelmont.com.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 10:34 AM.