Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Rags to Riches worked Aug. 5 over the main track at Saratoga Race Course. The daughter of A.P. Indy went a half in :49.86 under an easy ride from Angel Cordero Jr., who did not ask the filly to run as they went around the New York oval.

"I thought the work went very well," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "Obviously, we weren't looking for anything overly exciting, just wanted to give her a chance to stretch her legs. It went as expected. She's a tremendous athlete and mover; when you watch her train, she's so powerful from behind. She's not a fast work horse. The main thing we're trying to do is keep her happy."

"We have plenty of good options, and obviously we want to shoot for the race that sets her up best for the Breeders' Cup," he said. "We may wait for something to come along like the Ruffian or the Gazelle. I wouldn't be afraid to run her against older mares."

Pletcher, however, confirmed that Octave, who won the Mother Goose (gr. I) and Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. I) at Belmont, would run in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama.

“She’s going to run in the Alabama, not matter what,” Pletcher said.

Rags to Riches has been at Saratoga since July 31, when she shipped in from Belmont Park. Earlier that month, she missed two scheduled workouts, the first because of a fever July 16, and the second after being pulled up at the start of a five-furlong breeze July 22. She was shipped to the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine at New Bolton Center for precautionary X-rays but returned to training last week after a brief layoff.

"If anything, I'm more comfortable with her back in training," Pletcher said. "They ran every kind of test you can imagine on her." 

Rags to Riches has not raced since her historic Belmont win, in which she became the first filly to win the classic in 102 years.