Miss Fulton Gal pointing to Monmouth Oaks

Miss Fulton Gal might have been fortunate to catch a field taken off the turf in the $125,000 Christiana Stakes at Delaware Park last weekend, but Mike Gorham certainly wasn’t complaining when the 3-year-old filly picked up her second stakes victory of the year.

With dirt seemingly treating his filly well to this point, the trainer said he now plans to point to the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks on July 25.

“There's a couple of spots, and the water gets deeper in some of those 3-year old filly races, too,” Gorham said. “I'm looking at the Monmouth Oaks next as a possibility. That time frame is pretty good and it's not that far a ship for us.”

Gorham did not rule out another attempt on the turf at some point, but part of his reasoning for entering Miss Fulton Gal in the Christiana was that she stood to benefit if the race was moved to the dirt. She might not have stacked up in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan or $150,000 Weber City Miss, but she easily cleared her turf-first rivals by 2 1/4 lengths.

The Monmouth Oaks would be a clear step up for a filly who proved to be up against it in similar company earlier this year, but she has also steadily improved since winning the $100,000 Beyond the Wire at Laurel in March.

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