Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) winner Nitrogen is not only a homebred for the D. J. Stable of Len Green and his wife, the late Lois Green, and managed by their son Jon Green, she is a true family affair.
"I think it keeps your dad younger," trainer Mark Casse commented to Jon Green shortly after Nitrogen surely locked down a second straight Eclipse Award season with her 2-length Distaff win Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
"It keeps my dad involved and focused," Jon Green agreed of his father, 90, who celebrated in the winner's circle. "And it's a piece of Mom, because she was involved in doing the mating analysis of this."
This particular story started when D. J. Stable, which Len and Lois Green named for the initials of children Debbie and Jon, purchased the stakes-placed Uncle Mo mare Tiffany Case for $320,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. She delivered the Violence filly she was carrying at the time in early 2020; the Greens sold the filly Love to Shop as a young horse, and she went on to be a graded-placed stakes winner.
Tiffany Case did not have a foal in 2021 and, in the 2022 breeding season, she went to the court of Medaglia d'Oro. That had always been the long-range plan, and the Greens had their fingers crossed for a filly.
"We always knew we wanted to get a Medaglia filly," Jon Green said. "Since we've been in the business, that's one of the best, if not the best, broodmare sire. When we bought Tiffany Case, we thought that she was the kind of mare that deserved to be bred to a stallion like Medaglia."
Nitrogen was foaled in March 2022 at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky. Lois Green died in May 2023 at age 84, and Jon Green has said that Nitrogen's crop is the final group of D. J. homebreds his mother had a serious hand in planning, making Nitrogen's success all the more poignant.
"This was the last group of horses that my mom was involved in doing the mating analysis with me, so I know every time this filly runs, Mom is looking down on us and smiling because she was a major role in helping us decide which stallion we were going to bring Tiffany Case to," he said.
Meanwhile, the Greens tasted Breeders' Cup success, although not with homebreds, even before Nitrogen hit the track. D. J. co-owned 2018 Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Jaywalk with Cash is King, and campaigned 2022 Juvenile Fillies winner Wonder Wheel. The latter was trained by Casse and, afterward, the Greens offered him a deal.
"The story is that after Wonder Wheel won, we said to him, 'Do you want a bonus, or do you want to pick out one of our two dozen (coming) yearlings to campaign and race?'" Jon Green said.
Casse wanted to see the young stock before deciding, so he headed from Keeneland over to Taylor Made. Soon afterward, Jon Green's phone rang.
"I said, 'OK, who is it?' and he said, 'It's the Medaglia filly. She breathes different air,'" Jon Green recalled.
"At that moment, I went ahead, and I went on The Jockey Club (naming) website, and I looked to see what elements were lighter than oxygen, and Nitrogen was available (as a name)."
Whatever element Nitrogen is powered by, it is tireless, and added to a memorable Breeders' Cup weekend for the Greens, who co-bred Friday's Juvenile Turf (G1T) winner Haffner with the Coolmore team. Already a Sovereign Award champion in 2024 and an Eclipse Award champion in 2025, Nitrogen has won 10 of 19 career starts, has never missed the board, and has earned more than $4.1 million.
The Greens have announced intentions to campaign her in 2027 if she is in fine fettle, giving her a chance to make more family memories.
"We won the Breeders' Cup. Now we've go to get her into the Hall of Fame," Casse said. "That's the next deal."
