Forte Crushes Magic in Florida Derby Thriller

Son of Repole Stable and St Elias Stable Violence He overcame a tough post position and made five wide moves, dropping the far return before catching and passing Mage from OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH in the final stage.

The victorious dark bay/brown colt won his fifth race in a row and his sixth of seven races overall on May 6 to bolster his status as a premier contender for this year’s Kentucky Derby (G1). Churchill Downs.

“I finally thought it was amazing,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “I was worried when the draw came out and after 11. Statistically (it’s) we know that going 1 1/8 mile down the Gulfstream is a really big disadvantage.

“The last hundred yards was the most impressive to me. He came up to me on the eighth post and looked defeated.”

Forte’s victory brought Pletcher’s record number of Florida Derby wins to seven and gave afternoon jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. his sixth victory.

st. “We have the best athlete in thoroughbred racing: Irad Ortiz Jr.,” said Vinnie Viola, co-owner of Elias Stable. “He produced four to six sizes of horse.”

“Going to the quarter-post (Forte) gave me an excellent feeling,” Ortiz mentioned of Forte. “He held the string and the horse exterior moved and gave me an excellent feeling and is able to roll.”

The 1-5 favourite, Forte reported a 1:48.51 win time for 1 1/8 mile on a quick important observe. He paid $2.60 to beat the most important Florida Derby subject since Massive Brown beat 11 opponents from 12 in 2008.

Wizard and jockey Luis Saez completed second, two lengths forward of Castleton Lyons’ Cyclone Mischief, together with The Albaugh Household and Javier Castellano.

“(Mage) could also be drained however keep in mind, that is his third race,” mentioned coach Gustavo Delgado Jr. “What number of races did it take for Forte to get to this degree?”

The Florida Derby was the best preparation within the historical past of the Kentucky Derby, with 24 Rose Run winners and top-five finishers scoring acceptable for the Kentucky Derby on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale. .

“I believe it is Churchill’s flip,” mentioned coach Dale Romans, who presently holds 45 factors for Cyclone Mischief. “I assumed he gave the impression to be dealing with[distance]properly immediately. The tempo situation may be a little bit totally different (1 1/4 miles). It would even be higher for him.”

All the pieces goes properly, Forte will certainly be a part of Run for the Roses. He ready for the Florida Derby with a 4 1/2-length victory at Gulfstream on the March 4 Youth Betting Fountain (G2).

“I did not thoughts operating the eleventh (as a result of) they have been going to run twentieth within the (Kentucky) Derby,” co-owner Mike Repole mentioned, “so I assumed he had an unbelievable coaching.”

“It continues to shock us. It is getting higher and higher,” Pletcher mentioned. “He is managed a distance of 1 mile and one eighth, and actually he most likely ran a mile and three sixteenths immediately. That offers you lots of confidence going ahead.”