Fortune Pearl gets work in over track for Alabama

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Fortune Pearl, the winner of the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks in her last start, worked four furlongs in 48.13 seconds Friday over Saratoga’s main track in preparation for the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes here Aug. 16.

Over a fast track following the renovation break, Fortune Pearl, working on the outside of the 3-year-old maiden filly Luna Time, went her first quarter in 23.73 seconds and came home in 24.40. Fortune Pearl galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.72 under jockey Trevor McCarthy.

“Trevor said he was glad she was here because it’s definitely a different surface than what she’s used to,” trainer Graham Motion said. “We took her to Delaware with the idea of pointing to the Oaks, so she trained there, and I wanted to do the same here if we’re going to run in this race. I want her to train over the track. She’s a pretty straightforward filly; she’s not a real flashy filly in the morning. I was perfectly happy with her.”

Prior to her victory in the Delaware Oaks, Fortune Pearl finished third behind Stopchargingmaria in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico on May 16. Stopchargingmaria came back to win the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks last weekend and is pointing to the Alabama.