By Patrycja Szpyra
The betting public thought it would be a welcome parade, and Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) did not let them down, striding home much the best in the GIII Bayakoa Stakes to kick off her 2026 campaign at Oaklawn.
The Mark Casse star needs little introduction, but her record bears repeating: the daughter of the now-pensioned Medaglia d'Oro breathes rarified air as one of few horses who can claim Grade I wins/placings on two surfaces. As part of her nine-race championship campaign last season, she came a nose shy of winning the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes on the turf at Saratoga July 5, but returned in mid-August to take home the GI Alabama Stakes on the main track. She spent the rest of 2025 on the dirt, running second in the GI Spinster Stakes–by a head this time–and was 5 1/2 lengths beaten by the ever-classy Scylla (Tapit) in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The picture of consistency in her career, she's never been off the board in 13 starts.
In no rush from the outside as 40-1 longshot Rose Palace (Palace) showed the way though an opening quarter in :24.02, and a half in :48.33, Nitrogen improved her position from that overland route as her inner rivals pushed the issue. Confidently handled through six panels in 1:12.86, the 1-5 dominating favorite was still in cruise control as they swung for home and her stablemate Nerazurri (Protonico) took a tentative command of affairs.
Swapping to the wrong lead in midstretch when Jose Ortiz asked the champion 3-year-old filly to keep her mind on running, she strolled in with air to spare in a final time of 1:43.53. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Quietside (Malibu Moon) battled gamely to get up for third.
In addition to being crowned the Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old filly for 2025, Nitrogen did similar good work in Canada for her juvenile season. The voters in the Great White North decided she'd done enough in 2024 to be made the Sovereign Award champion 2-year-old filly after a Grade I-placing in just her second lifetime start at Woodbine.
“She's brilliant,” said Ortiz. “What more can you say about [Mark] Casse and his team, bringing her back ready. They're having a great meet here. It's great to have won for him today. She, obviously, kept form. She wasn't off that long. She ran in November and was breezing in December. Now, it's February. I guess she got like a 30-day break. But Casse's in the Hall of Fame for a reason.”
“Being her first race back, I rode her carefully, but I rode her like the best horse. I put her three-wide and let her do her thing. Just kind of waited for the right moment to ask her to go and when I did she was there for me.”
“[Nitrogen] amazes me. She makes me look good,” said Casse. “They say she truly breathes different air. It amazes me. I was really nervous today because here I have this champion and if I let her down, it would have been hard for me. So, it was tough because we'd had the winter [the track was closed nine days, Jan. 24-Feb. 1, following a winter storm].”
“When I came here, I said if everything goes right, we'll run in the Bayakoa. Well, nothing really went right and we still ran in the Bayakoa. What can I say? Cristian Torres [aboard Nerazurri] said maybe we should buy a house here.”
When asked how he felt in the stretch, watching the stablemates battle it out, Casse responded, “It's hard. They're both our kids, right? The other filly ran hard, too. She's a good horse as well. But there's only one Nitrogen.”
“She was trying,” said Torres. “But Nitrogen, she's a Grade I winner [on] dirt, [placed on] turf, second in the Breeders' Cup. She's an unbelievable filly. I'm really proud of my filly, too.”
NITROGEN with all her class wins her 4YO debut in the G3 Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park! ✨@jose93_ortiz was up for trainer @markecasse.
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/GTefrWn9sg
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 7, 2026
Pedigree Notes:
Nitrogen is the second black-type horse for Tiffany Case, but by far the most accomplished of the duo, the other namely being SW & MGSP Love to Shop (Violence)–the first to the races for the mare and who did her best work in Canada. She sold at the 2025 Keeneland January sale to Pin Oak Stud for a co-topping tag of $700,000.
Their dam, who herself sold to Whisper Hill's Mandy Pope for $3.2-million last month at Keeneland in the same ring as her eldest daughter, has one other foal of racing age named Sniper (Gun Runner), who is a freshly-turned juvenile this season. The Uncle Mo mare, a half-sister to GSW & GISP Talk Veuve to Me (Violence), joined the venerable Pope broodmare band in foal to red-hot Not This Time for 2026.
Saturday, Oaklawn
BAYAKOA S.-GIII, $250,000, Oaklawn, 2-7, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.53, ft.
1–NITROGEN, 119, f, 4, by Medaglia d'Oro
1st Dam: Tiffany Case (SP), by Uncle Mo
2nd Dam: Biblical Point, by Point Given
3rd Dam: Bibical Sense, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
O/B-D. J. Stable, LLC (KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $146,250. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo filly & GISP-Can, Ch. 3yo filly & GISW-U.S., 13-7-4-2, $2,192,854. *1/2 to Love to Shop (Violence), SW & MGSP, $240,778. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Nerazurri, 121, f, 4, Protonico–Beautiful Liar, by Candy Ride (Arg). O-Michael H. Eiserman; B-Porta Pia Stables LLC (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $48,750.
3–Quietside, 119, f, 4, Malibu Moon–Benner Island, by Speightstown. O/B-Shortleaf Stable, Inc. (KY); T-John Alexander Ortiz. $24,375. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'
Margins: 2 3/4, 6 1/4, 3HF. Odds: 0.30, 4.60, 4.10.
Also Ran: In Just My Heels, Miss Authentic, Rose Palace. Scratched: Peignoir.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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