Nitrogen targets Whitney Stakes challenge against males at Saratoga

Nitrogen is headed to the Aug. 8 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, a Grade 1 test against males. D.J. Stable general manager Jon Green said on the Rail Talk podcast that the move followed Nitrogen’s 12 3/4-length demolition of the Ogden Phipps Stakes.

The Whitney will be run for the 99th time and covers 1 1/8 miles on dirt, the same trip Nitrogen cleared so easily in the Ogden Phipps on June 5. That 12 3/4-length margin is the largest winning spread in the race’s history since 1976, according to Equibase. The race is also a Breeders’ Cup Classic qualifying event.

The team considered the Stephen Foster, but the depth of that spot pushed them toward Saratoga instead. Green believes Nitrogen’s recent form can stack up with anything in the older-horse division. When she gets eight weeks or more between starts, she tends to take a noticeable step forward. The gap from the Ogden Phipps to the Whitney is nine weeks.

The long-range plan still runs through Keeneland on Oct. 31, where Breeders’ Cup options remain open between the Classic and the Distaff. Nitrogen is also expected to stay in training as a 5-year-old.

Six females have won the Whitney before Nitrogen’s attempt: Black Maria in 1928, Bateau in 1929, Esposa in 1937, Gallorette in 1948, Lady’s Secret in 1986 and Personal Ensign in 1988. Personal Ensign’s victory came against champion Gulch, and she backed it up by winning all seven of her starts as a 4-year-old that season. If Nitrogen wins, she will become the seventh female to win a race first added to Saratoga’s stakes schedule in 1928.