Forte, Ortiz Jr. a Winning Combo on KY Derby Trail

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has been honored four times as North America's outstanding rider. Just 30 years old, he has won 17 Breeders' Cup races, and last year the young jockey captured his second Belmont Stakes (G1) in piloting Mo Donegal   to victory following his initial success with Creator  in 2016.

The two initial legs of the Triple Crown have eluded him, however, with his closest finish in the Preakness Stakes (G1) being a second from Midnight Bourbon  in 2021 and his best placing in the Kentucky Derby (G1) a fourth from Improbable   in 2019 upon the disqualification of Maximum Security   for interference.

As the regular rider of early Kentucky Derby 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. Pletcher is a two-time Kentucky Derby winner.

But as with every Derby hopeful, everything must go right for Forte between now and the 1 1/4-mile classic May 6. A key step along the way comes April 1 when the 3-year-old races in the Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

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 (G1) at Oaklawn Park. 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. Already with 90 points, he is safely in the Derby.

It is the purse and the prestige that counts for Forte Saturday, and the use of the race as a stepping stone toward the Run for the Roses.

Gulfstream's leading rider will be tasked with avoiding too much ground loss with Forte breaking from post 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.

"He does everything I ask him. 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 (G2) at Gulfstream in the colt's season debut.

Last year, Ortiz also rode Forte to capture a maiden race, the Hopeful Stakes (G1), the Breeders' Futurity (G1), and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). A fourth in the Sanford Stakes (G3) was the sole defeat for the son of Violence  , who races for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable.

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. 

"His mind is for sure changing," Ortiz said of the champion 2-year-old male of 2022. "He's doing things a little better. He doesn't hesitate. He's not like a 2-year-old anymore. He's figured out what he needs to do, which makes it good for me."

Forte 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.

FORTE looking amazing schooling for trainer Todd Pletcher ahead of Saturday’s Florida Derby! pic.twitter.com/XiC7KnVWod

— Samantha (@samanthagperry) March 29, 2023

St. 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.

Their colt will need a little luck, both Saturday and down the road in the Kentucky Derby. 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.

Mo Donegal   would also break from the dreaded one hole in the Derby for Pletcher, Ortiz, and owners Donegal Racing and Repole Stable. He settled for fifth.

Those runners were Derby contenders, though not standouts. By comparison, Forte has been a cut above many of the other Derby prospects to date.

The two colts that came closest to him in the Fountain of Youth that return in the Florida Derby, third-place Cyclone Mischief  and fourth-place Mage , need to make up 5 3/4 lengths and 6 3/4 lengths, respectively.

Mage, coming off a trip in which he broke slowly and raced wide, would appear eligible for improvement under his new jockey, Luis Saez. The latter is riding Saturday in Florida rather than at Oaklawn for the Arkansas Derby card.

Saez knows what winning the Kentucky Derby feels like, only to have it taken away in a stewards' decision a short time later, having been on Maximum Security in 2019.

Angel of Empire , who Saez rode to win the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, is among the Arkansas derby headliners along with Reincarnate  and Rocket Can . Flavien Prat rides Angel of Empire Saturday.

At nine furlongs, the Florida Derby and Arkansas Derby will test the participants over a longer distance, though Ortiz has no doubts about his mount's stamina.

"He can stay all day on his stride," he said. "He has a turn of foot but he stays. He stays with that speed—that's good on dirt."