Oratory out for the year

ELMONT, N.Y. - Oratory, the winner who would have been favored to win Monday's Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park, suffered a condylar fracture to his right foreleg during a workout Friday morning at Belmont and is out for the year.

Oratory was scheduled to undergo surgery Saturday morning, at which time Dr. Stephen Selway will likely insert a couple of screws to stabilize the bone.

Exercise rider Alfredo Laureano said he felt something was amiss with Oratory in the last furlong of a five-furlong workout, which was officially timed in 1:04. Laureano jumped off the horse about a furlong after the wire, and Oratory was walked back to the barn.

"He felt something during the work and just eased him the last part of it," Albertrani said. "You could see he was lame as soon as he pulled up."

Albertrani said a decision on Oratory's racing future has not yet been decided.

Oratory, a son of Pulpit, won 3 of 5 starts, including a 4 3/4-length victory in the Grade 2 Peter Pan. Oratory earned a 114 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort and was regarded by some as a top challenger to dual-classic winner Afleet Alex later this summer in perhaps the Travers.

Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum's Darley Stable owns Oratory.