Nitrogen's Next Start Points North, Away From Louisville Heat

Trainer Mark Casse has taken champion Nitrogen off the work sheet for the Sept. 12 Grade II Locust Grove Stakes at Churchill Downs, citing hot weather forecast for Louisville around the race date. The son of Medaglia d'Oro will instead be pointed toward Belmont for his next start. It is the kind of call that gets made quietly on the backstretch — condition book set aside in favor of a cooler track and a horse kept right. For a trainer with Casse's résumé, protecting a champion's form matters more than holding a spot on the entry list. Nitrogen's connections will now turn their attention to Belmont as the horse's next stage.

With reporting from Thoroughbred Daily News.