Fionn Upsets Nitrogen, Wins Belmont Oaks by a Nose
Fionn and jockey Flavien Prat nailed heavy favorite Nitrogen on the wire to win the $500,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) by a nose in track record time July 5 at Saratoga Race Course.
Nitrogen, a winner of five consecutive races coming in and considered to be the best 3-year-old turf filly in the United States, tracked a fast pace set by Opulent Restraint , got her head in front of the stubborn front-runner with about a furlong to run, but couldn’t hold off Fionn and Prat’s late charge.
The final time for 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf was 1:44.84. The previous track record was 1:45.06, set by In Italian in the 2022 Diana Stakes (G1T).
Fionn, a 3-year-old filly by Twirling Candy , is owned by George Messina and Michael Lee, and is trained by Brad Cox. She paid $14.40 to win. Longshot Opulent Restraint finished three-quarters of a length back in third.
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