By comparison, Forte has been a cut above many of the other Derby prospects to date.įorte winning Fountain of Youth (Gulfstream Park/Coglianese photos) Those runners were Derby contenders, though not standouts. Mo Donegal would also break from the dreaded one hole in the Derby for Pletcher, Ortiz, and owners Donegal Racing and Repole Stable. Known Agenda was not so fortunate in Kentucky, at least not at the Derby post draw, landing the disadvantageous inside post in the random pill draw and ultimately finishing ninth. Their colt will need a little luck, both Saturday and down the road in the Kentucky Derby. Elias, Pletcher, and Ortiz look to win the Florida Derby again Saturday after teaming up with Known Agenda to win the race two years ago. He’s figured out what he needs to do, which makes it good for me.”įorte had his game face on in the paddock when schooling at Gulfstream March 29, drawing praise from Pletcher and others who witnessed the colt prancing lightly on his feet. “His mind is for sure changing,” Ortiz said of the champion 2-year-old male of 2022. In rallying from fifth to take the Fountain of Youth, Forte struck the front just inside the eighth pole, hitting the finish with his ears pricked. A fourth in the Sanford Stakes was the sole defeat for the son of Violence, who races for Repole Stable and St. Last year, Ortiz also rode Forte to capture a maiden race, the Hopeful Stakes, the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, and the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA, all Grade 1 races. He’s always there for me,” said Ortiz, who has been aboard Forte for all of his six career starts, most recently in riding him to victory in the March 4 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream in the colt’s season debut. Gulfstream’s leading rider will be tasked with avoiding too much ground loss with Forte breaking from post-position 11 in the Florida Derby, which like other 1 1/8-mile races on the main track at the South Florida oval, begins with a short run to the first of two turns. It is the purse and the prestige that counts for Forte Saturday, and the use of the race as a steppingstone toward the run for the roses.įriday, March 31: 3-6:30 p.m. Already with 90 points, he is safely in the Derby. The two races offer qualifying points on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale to their top five finishers - not that Forte needs Derby points, the preference system Churchill Downs uses when the Derby is oversubscribed beyond its 20-horse field size.

The 1 1/8-mile race is one of two prep races on Saturday that are part of the domestic Road to the Kentucky Derby series, the other being the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. A key step along the way comes April 1 when the 3-year-old races in the Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa at Gulfstream Park. Pletcher is a two-time Kentucky Derby winner.īut as with every Derby hopeful, everything must go right for Forte between now and the 1 1/4-mile classic May 6. As the regular rider of early Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve favorite Forte, this year would appear to present an opportunity to fill that Derby void, and perhaps, too, in the Preakness, though his trainer, Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, typically bypasses the Preakness turnaround on two weeks rest unless his horse wins the Derby.

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