Following her victory over Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Good Cheer in the Aug. 16 Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, Nitrogen has cracked the leading 10 horses in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top Thoroughbred Poll. She holds the final spot in the top 10 of the poll released Aug. 19, with nine horses and their positions in front of her unchanged from the previous week's rankings.
Godolphin's 3-year-old colt Sovereignty, the favorite for the Aug. 23 Travers Stakes (G1), continues to top the poll.
Nitrogen, 6-1-0 in seven starts this year for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse and owner D. J. Stable, displaced the retired Raging Torrent from the top 10. The latter dropped to 12th behind Nitrogen and 11th-ranked She Feels Pretty, winner of the E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) over the weekend at Woodbine.
Voting from week 30 of the poll followed racing performances through Aug. 17.
Nitrogen's ranking—she is the only 3-year-old filly in the top 10—confirms her position as the current leader of her division. Other races this summer and fall, notably the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Del Mar, could alter the landscape.
The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, voting for which is conducted by national media, represents horses competing for Horse of the Year. The Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes Nov. 4, a few days after the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships this fall at Del Mar.
The full poll and votes by voter can be found online.
