The Grandview at Las Vegas to Forte3/15/2024 ![]() ![]() I was proud of him in the Belmont, he was taking all the worst of it and got a wide trip coming around the turn off a 10-week layoff and still gaining on the winner at the end. "To accelerate like he did and make up that much ground on the eventual Derby winner. "You can see in almost all of his wins, but particularly in the Florida Derby, he seemed to salvage victory from what looked like a sure defeat coming by me at the eighth pole," recalled Pletcher. Pletcher spoke highly of Forte's Florida Derby effort, comparing it to his Jim Dandy win. Prior to scratching from the Kentucky Derby, Forte was a game winner of the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 1 at Gulfstream Park over next-out Kentucky Derby winner and returning rival Mage after winning his seasonal debut in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on March 4 at the South Florida oval. I thought we got a good race from him there, so hopefully we've accomplished that." "Obviously, it was a frustrating time around the Derby and going into the Belmont off a 10-week layoff, so we're hoping to get back on track and put him in the best position to win the Travers. "It was great to get him back in the winner's circle here," Pletcher said. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher used the traditional local Travers prep as a springboard for both of his previous Travers winners Flower Alley and Stay Thirsty. The Jim Dandy victory was a redeeming one for Forte, who finished a late-closing second in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 10, five weeks after being scratched as the morning-line favorite for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. Racing an even third along the inside down the backstretch, Forte raced in between Angel of Empire and Saudi Crown in upper stretch and defeated the latter by a nose while earning a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure. The son of Violence enters from a narrow triumph in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by DK Horse on July 29 over a sloppy and sealed Spa main track. Elias Stable's Forte, the 2022 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, headlines this year's Travers and sports a ledger of 9-7-1-0 while bragging field-best earnings of $2,954,830. ![]()
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