SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Coming to the quarter pole of Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, jockey Luis Saez had moved Secret Oath to within one length of heavily favored Nest. For a moment, it looked as though there could be a horse race in the stretch. But only for a moment. Irad Ortiz Jr., aboard Nest, was waiting for Saez and before there could be any threat, Ortiz asked Nest to go and Nest ran away from Secret Oath and the five other fillies in the field to record a 4 1/4-length victory in the $600,000 Alabama. Secret Oath, who beat Nest in the Kentucky Oaks 3 1/2 months ago, finished second by two lengths over Goddess of Fire. Skratch Kat was fourth followed by Gerrymander, Nostalgic, and She’s Keen. Nest’s victory in the Alabama came four weeks after she defeated Secret Oath by 12 1/4 lengths in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks. Add an 8 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland in April and Nest is perched firmly atop the 3-year-old filly division. “That was a special performance today,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who won his fourth Alabama, third with the same horse who won the CCA Oaks. “To see her come back, it seemed like she hardly drew a deep breath.” :: DRF's Saratoga headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more Her connections and backers may have held their breath for a second when Nest broke awkwardly from the starting gate. But she quickly recovered, stalked pacesetting longshot She’s Keen through fraction of 24.39 seconds for the quarter, 49.44 for the half, and 1:14.37 for six furlongs. Nest made the lead approaching the quarter pole, and Ortiz, who had been warned by Pletcher for an outside run from Secret Oath turning for home, let his filly roll. “The trainer told me they’re going to try and surprise you making a move outside of you so be ready,” Ortiz said. “Don’t wait until he gets close to you. “When I see Lukas filly, I say ‘Okay lets go!’ because I feel like I have so much horse and I just let her go.” Regarding Nest’s awkward start, Pletcher said, “It was a little hairy there for the first couple of strides, but after that it was all her.” Nest, a daughter of Curlin owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House, covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.14 and returned $2.70 as the 1-5 favorite. She earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. D. Wayne Lukas, the trainer of Secret Oath, said his filly ran her race Saturday and was simply second best. :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. “We got outrun, we had a shot at her at the top of the stretch, she’s special,” Lukas said. “We had our style today. I thought Luis rode a real good race. Little bit slow on the fractions early on, that probably set up for [Nest] to kick on but we’re supposed to kick on too.” In 2014, Pletcher and Mike Repole won the Alabama and Coaching Club American Oaks with Stopchargingmaria, a filly Repole owned by himself and named after his wife. “You should never do it once, to do it a second time with a filly like this who’s pretty special and with a partnership with Eclipse and Michael House is a lot of fun,” Repole said. Aron Wellman, of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners said for the second time in a month he stood and applauded one of his horses for the final furlong of a Grade 1 race. “I’ve stood in this grandstand and applauded a lot of champions, but never my own,” Wellman said. “She’s special.”