Saturday’s 58th running of the$1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, a “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series race for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, drew a field of nine. Legendary females have won Oaklawn’s premier race for older fillies and mares, including Azeri (three-time winner: 2002-2004), Zenyatta (two-time winner: 2008 and 2010), Havre de Grace, and Thorpedo Anna – all voted Horse of the Year. This year’s edition is highlighted by 2025 Eclipse Award Champion 3-year-old filly Nitrogen, who is the 9-5 morning-line favorite.
Here’s a look at the field from the rail out:
Following a stellar 3-year-old campaign with graded stakes wins on both the dirt and turf, Nitrogen returned in 2026 in strong form with a 2 ¾ length win in the Bayakoa Stakes before finishing third last time out in the Azeri Stakes over a sloppy track at Oaklawn. Trained by Mark Casse, Nitrogen will be piloted by Jose Ortiz, who has been in the irons for her last 12 starts. Majestic Oops, who upset the Azeri at odds of 9.30-1, is undefeated from two starts in her 6-year-old campaign. The daughter of Majestic Harbor is 6-for-8 in the money at Oaklawn Park and will be making her 36th career start. Francisco Arrieta is back in the irons for trainer Dan Ward. The runner-up finisher in the Azeri, Regaled, returns to Oaklawn after posting a career-best 102 Equibase Speed Figure in that race for trainer Whit Beckman and jockey Joe Ramos. Dazzling Move finished fifth last time out in the Inside Information Stakes Presented by MyRacehorse to begin her 5-year-old campaign. Edwin Gonzalez makes the trip from Gulfstream Park to ride for the first time at Oaklawn for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Om N Joy will be making her fourth consecutive graded stakes appearance. The 4-year-old Om filly started the year with a third-place finish in the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile Stakes Presented by FanDuel at Santa Anita Park for trainer Aggie Ordonez, who will be making her first career start at Oaklawn Park. Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux is named to ride. Mark Casse’s second entrant in this race, Nerazurri, has won three of her last four starts at Oaklawn, including two stakes wins and a runner-up finish to stablemate Nitrogen in the Bayakoa Stakes. Regular rider Cristian Torres will be back aboard. Five G, winner of last year’s Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park Oaks, romped by 4 ½ lengths in her 4-year-old debut at the allowance optional claiming level for trainer George Weaver with Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard. Velazquez has two wins from two mounts aboard Five G and travels from Keeneland to ride Saturday in Arkansas. Claret Beret, the second starter trained by Saffie Joseph, is fresh off a five-length victory in the Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream Park going this same 1 1/16-mile distance as the Apple Blossom. Regular jockey Micah Husbands will make the trip from Gulfstream to ride. Blue Fire rounds out the field for current Oaklawn Park leading trainer Steve Asmussen. The 4-year-old Aurelius Maximus filly ships in from Fair Grounds and is fresh off a win in the Shantel Lanerie Memorial Stakes. Florent Geroux, who was aboard last time out, stays in the irons for the Apple Blossom.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
Nerazurri is a filly that has progressed with age, and her best races still might be in front of her. The daughter of Protonico gradually improved during her 3-year-old season in 2025, finishing last of six in her stakes debut at Gulfstream Park but then posting a close runner-up finish in the Azalea Stakes. Following that race, she ran third in the Sheer Drama Handicap, posting an 86 Equibase Speed Figure before finishing runner-up to Haulin Ice in the Princess Rooney Invitational Stakes, improving to a 92 Equibase figure. Nerazurri was privately purchased following the Princess Rooney and was switched to the Mark Casse barn. In her first couple starts for Casse, she finished third at the allowance optional claiming level and fourth at Churchill Downs in a starter allowance when trying the turf for the first time.
After shipping to Oaklawn in December, Nerazurri really came into her own, winning a starter allowance by 3 ½ lengths with Cristian Torres aboard for the first time and earning a 95 Equibase figure. Nerazurri then stretched out to 1 1/16 miles on the dirt in the restricted Oaklawn Sports Overnight Stakes in the first start of her 4-year-old campaign in January and drew clear to win by 3 ½ lengths with plenty left in the tank, again improving to a 100 Equibase figure. In February, Nerazurri faced her toughest test in the Bayakoa Stakes against stablemate Nitrogen, where she was second-best but 6 ¼ lengths clear of third-place finisher Quietside. Nerazurri earned a career-best 109 Equibase figure for her effort in the Bayakoa and backed that performance up with a 2 ¼ length win in the restricted Trivista Overnight Stakes last time out at Oaklawn, regressing a bit to a 95 figure against easier company. The second-place finisher in the Trivista, Peignoir, came back to win a restricted stakes race in her next start, adding to Nerazurri’s ability.
This filly loves the Oaklawn surface, and her record is an indicator of that fact with three wins and a second. She also has two wins and a second from three starts going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. Cristian Torres, who has been aboard for the last four consecutive starts, seemingly gets the best efforts out of Nerazurri and has found much success in stakes races at Oaklawn with Mark Casse. All-time, Casse and Torres win at 31% in stakes races together at Oaklawn and finish in the top three at a 66% rate. While facing Nitrogen again will be a tall task, Nerazurri is progressing well and offers tremendous value with a 6-1 morning line. She has shown she can compete in open graded stakes company.
Despite a third-place finish in the Azeri Stakes in her most recent start, Nitrogen has earned her morning line 9-5 favoritism in almost every way. This talented Medaglia d’Oro filly was simply brilliant throughout her 3-year-old campaign, reeling off four consecutive graded stakes wins and finishing a nose short of being a Grade 1 winner on both dirt and turf. Nitrogen ended 2025 with three straight top-level appearances, never finishing worse than second including a runner-up finish in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff against older fillies and mares. Nitrogen came out of the Distaff in good form, picking up where she left off with a 2 ¾ length win in the Bayakoa Stakes, earning a career-best and best-in-this-field 113 Equibase figure. Sent off at odds of 0.30-1 in the Azeri, Nitrogen did not live up to expectations, but even so, she finished third by just 1 ¾ lengths and still earned a triple-digit Equibase figure. In fact, Nitrogen has earned a triple-digit Equibase figure in her last 10 consecutive starts and ranks first in average speed in this field with a 106, with the second-highest entrant in this field only averaging a 96. Regular rider Jose Ortiz will be back aboard and apart from winning at 31% over the last 30 days (not including a win in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline), Ortiz wins at 47% in graded stakes races at Oaklawn over the past five years (7-for-15) and finishes in the top three 80% of the time. Nitrogen has been training sharply since the Azeri and despite the probability of going off under even-money odds at post time, she should be on every ticket.
Claret Beret offers fantastic value with an 8-1 morning line, especially considering she romped by five lengths last time out in the Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream to start her 5-year-old campaign. The daughter of Not This Time started her career with two different trainers before being privately purchased and switched to the Saffie Joseph barn in spring 2025. In her first start for Joseph and first at Gulfstream Park, she romped by 19 ¾ lengths in a handicap race. Claret Beret followed that up with a narrow second-place finish to Vahva in the Chicago Stakes at Churchill Downs in June. After being eased in the Ballerina Stakes in August at Saratoga, Claret Beret returned to Gulfstream to run fifth, third, and third in stakes races, all going one turn. Claret Beret stretched out to two turns and 1 1/16 miles last time out and won the Royal Delta, improving to 2-for-3 at the distance she’ll try again in this race. Another notable positive is that regular rider Micah Husbands stays aboard. Husbands has four mounts this Oaklawn meet with a win and three seconds. While she faces a tough ask to find the winner’s circle in this race, Claret Beret has shown the ability to compete at the graded level around two turns and could show up at a nice price to complete the trifecta.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is Majestic Oops (104), Regaled (102), Dazzling Move (98), Om N Joy (100), Five G (100) and Blue Fire (103).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
Nerazurri
Nitrogen
Claret Beret
