Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Forte advances another step closer to getting off vet’s list
ELMONT, N.Y. – Forte took a significant step toward getting off the veterinarian’s list and into the Belmont Stakes with a strong workout Saturday morning at Belmont Park.
Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five furlongs in 1:00.49, according to Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch. Forte started about a half-length behind the 3-yearold maiden Abadin and finished about 1 1/2 lengths in front. Forte, with a little prodding by Ortiz past the wire, proceeded to gallop out six furlongs in 1:12.72, seven furlongs in 1:25.94, and a mile in 1:38.74.
“It was a very well-executed breeze. He kind of gradually picked it up throughout and then had a very impressive gallop-out,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He came back in good order; very impressed by his level of fitness and how he recovered after the breeze.”
Forte was placed on the veterinarian’s list by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after that agency’s vet scratched Forte from the Kentucky Derby on the morning of the May 6 race due to a bruised right front foot.
In order to get off the vet’s list, Forte was required to have a work watched by a licensed racetrack veterinarian and then has to pass a blood test that was taken immediately after the breeze.
According to Pletcher, Dr. Sarah Hinchliffe, senior examining vet for the New York Racing Association, examined Forte before the work, watched the work, and then examined Forte back at the barn. Blood was drawn and it will be shipped to a laboratory. It is expected to take five business days to get the results of the blood test back.
Pletcher said Forte has been training in a full shoe on his right front foot, which was where he had the bruise. Prior to the Derby, Forte was training with a three-quarter shoe.
Meanwhile, Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who showed signs of colic Friday morning but was improving Saturday, will not be aimed at the Belmont Stakes. Kingsbarns, the Louisiana Derby winner who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss a scheduled workout this weekend. Kingsbarns has not breezed since the Kentucky Derby.
“The horse is healthy and he’s doing fine, we did not have to do any surgery but we’re not going to be able to work the next day or two so I don’t see him being ready for the Belmont off of one work,” Pletcher said.
Tapit Trice, who worked on Friday, will be Pletcher’s other Belmont Stakes starter.
At Churchill Downs Saturday, trainer Brad Cox worked a trio of horses – Angel of Empire, Hit Show, and Tapit Shoes – who are under consideration for the Belmont. Angel of Empire, who finished third as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds, in company with Warrant, who is coming for the Brooklyn Stakes on the Belmont undercard.
Cox said both Saturday’s work and Angel of Empire’s breeze the week before “give us the confidence that makes us think he’ll like a mile and a half. He does kind of stay on.”
Hit Show, the Withers winner who was fifth in the Kentucky Derby, went five furlongs in 1:00.20 in company with Salute the Stars, a recent first-level allowance winner.
“He’s bounced back and has been working really well,” Cox said. “He’s one that stays on in his gallops. He’s got that grinding style that keeps coming and he has enough speed to be competitive in the Belmont.”
While Angel of Empire and Hit Show are considered definite for the Belmont, Cox said Tapit Shoes is also under consideration. Tapit Shoes, a son of Tapit and a half-brother to the multiple Grade 1 winner Cyberknife, finished second, beaten a head, by Belmont Stakes contender Red Route One in the Bath House Row Stakes at Oaklawn on April 22. Tapit Shoes won his maiden by 7 1/2 lengths going 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds last Dec. 3.
All three horses are scheduled to breeze again next Saturday at Churchill after which they would ship to New York.
As of Saturday, the prospective Belmont field, with riders, is Angel of Empire (Flavien Prat), Arcangelo (Javier Castellano), Forte (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Hit Show (Manny Franco), Il Miracolo (Marcos Meneses), National Treasure (John Velazquez), Raise Cain (TBA), Red Route One (Joel Rosario), Tapit Shoes (TBA), and Tapit Trice (Luis Saez).