Champion Forte Rolls in Fountain of Youth Return

Living up to his lofty juvenile champion status was little problem for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte , who began his 3-year-old campaign March 4 with an impressive 4 1/2-length victory in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park.

Forte, son of Violence  , posted a winning time of 1:43.12 for the 1 1/16 miles to earn 50 points toward the Kentucky Derby (G1). His 90 overall points lead the contenders seeking to Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. He paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favorite in the Fountain of Youth.

Forte and @iradortiz take the Fountain of Youth Gr.2! #GulfstreamPark #ChampionshipMeet pic.twitter.com/Lm5XXtTIE0

— Gulfstream Park (@GulfstreamPark) March 4, 2023

The dark bay or brown colt was coming off a fourth-month layoff following his third straight grade 1 triumph in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland Nov. 4.

"Honestly, I can't say I'm surprised," winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. "I felt really, really good about the way this horse was coming into the race."

Just how good is Forte?

"Looks like there's a lot of upside," Pletcher said with a smile.

Forte broke slightly inward out of the gate and settled in fifth behind leaders Cyclone Mischief , Dangerous Ride , Rocket Can , and Mage  around the clubhouse turn.

Albaugh Family Stables and Castleton Lyons' Cyclone Mischief and jockey Tyler Gaffalione proceeded to set fractions of :24.05, :47.65 and 1:11.84. Forte settled in in the two path.

Rider Irad Ortiz Jr. steered Forte four-wide around the far turn. Last year's juvenile champ seized command in the upper stretch and drew off for the win.

"I had a beautiful trip, beautiful trip," Ortiz Jr. said. "Everything I expected to happen, everything came out good. I wanted to get a good position, he put me in a great place, right behind the horse (Rocket Can) I had to beat. I just bided my time to go."

Rocket Can, winner of the Feb. 4 Holy Bull Stakes (G3), finished second to earn 20 Kentucky Derby points. The Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' colt, trained by Bill Mott, now has 40 points overall.

"He ran big," Mott said of Rocket Can. "I was hoping he wouldn't get too excited, but he still looked like he ran his race."

Cyclone Mischief, trained by Dale Romans, took third and 15 Kentucky Derby points; fourth-place Mage, trained by Gustavo Delgado, earned 10 points; and Shadow Drago, another Mott trainee, picked up five points for fifth.

"It's a relief to see him run hard like he did," Romans said of Cylcone Mischief. "He tried all the way. He did all the work. I'm very pleased with him."

Rodeo Creek Racing's Blazing Sevens , a Chad Brown-trained son of Good Magic  , had finished fourth behind Forte in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile after winning the Champagne Stakes (G1). He spent Saturday's trip near or at the back of the nine-horse field. He finished eighth.

"He broke really well out of there," jockey Joel Rosario said. "I couldn't get in my position going into the first turn, and after that he just kind of ran steady. It wasn't his day today."

Although Forte appeared lathered up entering the gate, Pletcher said he was not concerned considering the warm South Florida weather.

"We got to the first turn with the position we wanted," Pletcher said. "He got jostled around a little bit leaving there, but we got to the spot we wanted to get to. He was able to save some ground the first turn and was traveling well behind those horses. It pretty much unfolded the way we talked about and ended the way we hoped."

Forte's next race figures to be in the Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream April 1 or in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) April 8 at Keeneland, where he won the Breeders' Futurity (G1) in October. The colt also won the Hopeful Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course in September.

"We carefully laid out a plan," said Pletcher, who also trained Violence. "We thought that we had a program that put him in position to be ready to run while still having room for improvement and room to continue to develop. I think we were able to accomplish that."

Co-owner Mike Repole said Forte's victory was "pretty special."

"He's been training like that. He's been acting like that. He's been looking like that," Repole said of his colt. "But you got to perform like that. We got that today."

The connections' hopes of a Kentucky Derby victory for Forte appear as possible as they did four months ago.

"It's always been the dream," Repole said. "Dream big, dream bigger. It's a good feeling right now."

Video: Fountain of Youth S. (G2)