Because of recent extreme high temperatures in Kentucky, champion filly Nitrogen will bypass an expected showdown with last year's champion female sprinter Splendora in the $400,000 Locust Grove (G2) next Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Mark Casse said it was too hot in Kentucky to ship Saturday from Saratoga to the Louisville track for the 1 1/16-mile race, David Grening of Daily Racing Form reports.
Saturday's high for the Louisville area was expected around 91 degrees after Friday's high was 100. Temperatures are still forecast in the 90s to start the week and then the low-to-mid 80s nearing the weekend.
"It's just too hot," Casse told the Form. "I don't want to ship her."
D. J. Stable's 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro daughter, last year's top 3-year-old filly, most recently finished a gallant second to Horse of the Year Sovereignty in the Whitney (G1) Aug. 8 at Saratoga following a front-running 12¾-length tour de force against her own sex in the Ogden Phipps (G1) June 5 at the upstate New York track.
In lieu of Churchill Downs and the Locust Grove, Nitrogen will ship early next week to Belmont Park, where the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) against males, possibly including Sovereignty, Sept. 18 or the Beldame for fillies and mares on Sept. 25 are options. The Spinster (G1) for fillies and mares Oct. 4 at Keeneland is also under consideration.
The Jockey Club Gold Cup could see Sovereignty and champion older dirt male Forever Young (JPN) face off in the 1 1/4-mile race. Sovereignty's status for the event is in question, however, after he developed a hind foot abscess that forces him to miss a workout this weekend and an undetermined number of training days.
"We'll see what's happening with Sovereignty," Casse said.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Sep 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
