Fresh off a powerhouse performance which carried her to a 12 3/4-length romp in the Ogden Phipps Stakes Presented by Ford, Nitrogen is set to take on the males for the first time when she lines up for the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. A victory on Saturday would place her in rarified air with a select group of female runners able to win the Whitney, including the legendary winner of the 1986 edition, Lady's Secret.

To date, there have been only six fillies or mares ever to win the historic race at Saratoga. The inaugural edition in 1928 was won by the champion Black Maria. She was followed into the exclusive club by Bateau (1929), Esposa (1937), Gallorette (1948), Lady's Secret (1986), and finally Personal Ensign (1988).

Nitrogen after Phipps victory (Coglianese Photos/Walter Wlodarczyk)

Awarded the 2025 Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly last year, the Mark Casse-trained Nitrogen will face a tall task on Saturday. Consistently one of the best races run each summer at Saratoga, this year’s edition of the Whitney promises to be especially strong with the Dubai World Cup hero Magnitude and the reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty leading the way. Other top males entered include Grade 1 winners White Abarrio, Baeza, and Antiquarian.

Nitrogen will bring a strong Saratoga record to the table when she enters the starting gate against America’s top older males. She is a perfect 3-for-3 on the Saratoga main track, which includes a big win in last summer’s Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales. Lady’s Secret had also shown an affinity for the upstate New York racetrack four decades ago.

A daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, Nitrogen will also be attempting to become the first female winner of the race in 38 years. That dry spell for females in the Whitney exactly matches the stretch that was ended by Lady’s Secret on a sloppy track 40 years ago.

Much like Nitrogen, the Saratoga story of Lady’s Secret began one season earlier as a 3-year-old. A striking gray daughter of Secretariat out of the Icecapade mare Great Lady M., she arrived at the 1985 Test Stakes as a talented sprinter on a three-race winning streak but was overshadowed by the race favorite, Mom’s Command.

A future Hall of Famer herself, the winner of New York’s Triple Tiara was heavily favored at 1-2 odds to add the Test to her growing resume, but instead it became the turning point in the career of the Oklahoma-bred Lady’s Secret.

Taking command at the head of the stretch under rider Jorge Velasquez, the gray filly coasted to a convincing two-length score over Mom’s Command. Eight days later she came back for a nose victory over older females in the Ballerina. The Test and Ballerina, her first two races at Saratoga, were the start of five straight graded stakes wins for the maturing sophomore filly.

She closed out 3-year-old season by running second to her older stablemate Life’s Magic in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Likewise, Nitrogen was second best in the Distaff last year in her final start as a sophomore, finishing behind the older filly Scylla at Del Mar.

Lady's Secret wins 1986 Whitney (Bob Coglianese/NYRA)

Never afraid to run his talented fillies against the boys in big races, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas tested Lady’s Secret against older males in a loaded edition of the 1986 Met Mile the following spring, when she finished a game third. After a big win in the Molly Pitcher Handicap at Monmouth Park, Lukas asked her again to take on the males, this time back at Saratoga in the Whitney.

Sent off as the 13-10 favorite in a field of seven, she faced a field that included Grade 1 winners Ends Well and Skip Trial. Lady’s Secret thoroughly enjoyed being back for her third career start at Saratoga. She also was quite happy with a racing surface that was sloppy after heavy summer rain.

Breaking from post No. 2 under Pat Day, Lady’s Secret went right out for the early lead. The talented Canadian Sunny Galore offered a bit of early pressure, but the filly spurted away on the first turn and never looked back. Laying down solid fractions throughout, she faced little challenge on the way to an impressive 4 1/2-length score over Ends Well in front of a large Saratoga crowd. In splashing to victory, Lady’s Secret became the first female to win the prestigious race since champion Gallorette in 1948.

The “Iron Lady” completed an amazing 4-year-old campaign with a dominant win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff three months later at Santa Anita. All told, she won 10 races, including eight Grade 1s, without finishing out of the money in 15 starts in 1986. Highlighted by her dominant win in the Whitney, Lady’s Secret finished in the top three in four Grade 1 starts against males that year. Her remarkable campaign was rewarded not only with an Eclipse Award as champion older female but also as the Horse of the Year.

Nitrogen still has much to prove if she is to someday be mentioned alongside the great Lady’s Secret, but her connections are giving her the opportunity to do something special on Saturday. Not only will she take on males, but she will be challenging many of the best dirt horses in the world. An upset victory in the Whitney would go a long way in securing her place in history next to legends of the game like Lady’s Secret.