Forte overcomes tough trip to prevail in Florida Derby

Apr 02, 2023 James Scully/TwinSpires.com

Saturday’s victory in the $1
million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park certified Forte as the favorite for the 149th
running of the
Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 6, but it did not come easy. The champion juvenile male and odds-on favorite experienced a wide trip from off the pace most of the way, but Forte courageously extended his stakes-winning
streak to five by rallying determinedly to get up by a length in deep stretch.

Owned by Mike Repole and Vincent Viola’s St Elias Stable, Forte
is trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Todd Pletcher, and Irad Ortiz Jr. has been up for all seven career starts.

“I was worried, he had a lot to do turning for home,” said
Pletcher, who extended his record with a seventh win in the Florida Derby. “He
had to angle out really wide and kind of got a wide trip all the way around
there, but he had a pretty smooth run it; he just had to lose a lot of ground
to do it. It looked like he had a lot to do still at the eighth pole but then
really kicked in the last part and found his best stride the last sixteenth.”

A major qualifier in the
Road to the Kentucky Derby series, the Florida Derby awarded points on a
100-40-30-20-10 scale to the top five finishers. Forte now tops the Kentucky
Derby leaderboard with 190 points.

The dark bay colt completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.37 (the corrected time as updated Sunday by Equibase), overhauling
Mage in the final strides. Mage was last early in the 12-horse field, but the
9-2 second choice made a big run to strike the front in upper stretch and came
up a little short in the end. It was two more lengths to Cyclone Mischief in
third. Mr. Ripple and pacesetter Fort Bragg completed the top five, and Il
Miracolo, West Coast Cowboy, Jungfrau, Nautical Star, Mr. Peeks, Dubyuhnell,
and Shaq Diesel rounded out the order.

Bred in Kentucky by South Gate Farm, Forte was purchased for
$110,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale. He’s out of the multiple
stakes-winning Blame mare Queen Caroline.

Winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), Breeders’
Futurity (G1), and Hopeful (G1) last year, once-beaten Forte opened 2023 with a
4 1/2-length tally in the Fountain of Youth (G2) on March 4. The Florida Derby
provided battle toughness for a 20-horse field at Churchill Downs.

“He got a lot of experience today,” Pletcher said. “The one
good thing about here is you get a big crowd, a noisy crowd, long post parade,
so they get exposed to a lot. That experience hopefully pays off down the
road.”