Forte Expected to Return to Work Tab in a 'Week Or So'

As the preps for the Kentucky Derby (G1) become more of a weekly occurrence, Run for the Roses favorite Forte  is in light training with Todd Pletcher at Palm Beach Downs in Florida and is expected to log his first workout as a 3-year-old in "a week or so."

"He's galloping well," Pletcher said. "He's been here approaching three weeks and we're probably going to give him his first breeze in the next week or so. We're still penciled in for the Fountain of Youth (G2, March 4 at Gulfstream Park) for his first start but we'll monitor him and his training and let him decide if that should be the target. The good thing about this part of the year is that there's literally a prep race every weekend, so you are not under the gun for a race if you need another week for work."

Owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, Forte is a cinch to be named the champion 2-year-old male at the Jan. 26 Eclipse Awards dinner after winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) to close out a campaign that also included grade 1 wins in the Breeders' Futurity and Hopeful Stakes. He posted four wins in five starts last year, winning twice at Keeneland and suffering his lone loss in the Sanford Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course.

Should the $1,595,150 earner turn in a solid effort in the Fountain of Youth, he will likely run once more before the May 6 Run for the Roses. With Forte owning a pair of grade 1, two-turn wins at Keeneland, co-owner Mike Repole has said the April 8 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at the Lexington track would be an attractive spot for the colt's final Derby tune-up.

"The experience he got as a 2-year-old and the professionalism he showed gives you confidence that two preps will be fine for him," said Pletcher, a finalist for the Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer.

Pletcher is pleased with the development he has seen in the dark bay colt after some winter freshening at Stonestreet Farm in Ocala. 

"He's done well. Ian Brennan and his staff at Stonestreet did a good job of putting some weight on him," Pletcher said. "He came in in excellent condition. He's a tall, leggy colt and is very much an image of his sire. He not only has the same color and markings but the same build. I think that's what makes him so athletic and a good, efficient mover. He will always have that same physique but you can see he's maturing and getting stronger."

The son of Violence   is the 10-1 morning-line favorite among the 38 individual entries in this weekend's Kentucky Derby Future Wager betting cycle and was the 10-1 individual choice in the Nov. 24-27 pool.

Bought for $110,000 from the Eaton Sales consignment at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Forte already has 40 qualifying points, which is typically enough to secure a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby.