Forte Tops Field of Five in Saratoga's Jim Dandy

The Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) may not crown the 3-year-old champion but it is surely a means to an end.

As rewarding as a victory in the July 29 $500,000 stakes for 3-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course may be, the majority of the connections of the five starters will tell you that the true prize awaits four weeks from now when the division's top stars will meet in a mile-and-a-quarter showdown in the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes (G1) which will play a huge role in deciding the champion 3-year-old male.

As for the Jim Dandy, it surely has its importance in terms of purse money and an enhanced reputation, yet its most important value for a starter like Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 2-year-old champion Forte  may be the conditioning gained in Saturday's mile-and-an-eighth test at the Spa that could yield an even bigger dividend next month in the Midsummer Derby—especially in a year like this one with so much parity.

"This is the prep for the Travers and most of us are using it accordingly," said Steve Asmussen, who trains Disarm .

While the battle for division leadership is far from decided, much like it did the last two years, wins in the Jim Dandy and Travers could be enough to sway Eclipse Award voters. Epicenter   (2022) and Essential Quality   (2021) both won the two Spa stakes and were ultimately honored with the prize as the outstanding 3-year-old male.

This year, there's no clear-cut leader after the three Triple Crown races and the July 22 Haskell Stakes (G1) were won by four different horses.

A case could be made that the Todd Pletcher-trained Forte belongs on top despite a tumultuous 3-year-old campaign that started with wins in the Florida Derby (G1) and Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), but were followed by a race day scratch when he would have been favored in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and then a second to Arcangelo  in the Belmont Stakes (G1) when he raced after a 10-week layoff.

"I think Forte is the leader. Mage  won the Kentucky Derby and was third in the Preakness (Stakes, G1) and second in the Haskell but he was second to us twice (in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby). Arcangelo is third and I don't know who else you consider," Forte owner Mike Repole said.  

A winner of six of eight starts at the moment, Forte raced twice at Saratoga last year when he emerged as the champion 2-year-old male. Bred by South Gate Farm, he was fourth in the Sanford Stakes (G3) and then finished first in the Hopeful Stakes (G1), though that victory is currently in dispute over a positive post-race drug test.

"It's been frustrating. I think that finishing second in the mile-and-a-half Belmont off 10 weeks' rest shows you how great a horse Forte is," Repole said about the son of Violence  , who was purchased for $110,000 from the Eaton Sales consignment at the Keeneland September Yearling Sales. "The difference between the winner (Arcangelo) and Forte in the Belmont was that the winner ran inside and it opened up for him while we took the scenic route. I think Forte ran the best race."

The Jim Dandy will also mark the first time Forte races with blinkers.

"Todd has been tempted to try it before," Repole said. "He talked with (jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.) and he decided we should. It's probably 50-50 he'll use them in the Travers. In the stretch lately he's been leaning on horses and this might help him focus more and he'll move a little earlier."

Winchell Thoroughbreds' homebred Disarm, like Forte, owns a win at the Spa, breaking his maiden by 6 1/4 lengths in an Aug. 6 race that proved to be his final start at 2.

Grade 2-placed with a second in the Louisiana Derby (G2), the son of Gun Runner   out of the Tapit   mare Easy Tap finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby after running into traffic issues in the stretch and since then won the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Ellis Park.

"Obviously we are very fond of the horse and we expect huge things from him," Asmussen said. "He's very talented but this is his opportunity to step forward."

Trainer Brad Cox will bring both quantity and quality to the Jim Dandy with three of the five starters.

In Angel of Empire  and Hit Show , he has a pair of graded stakes winners who finished in a dead-heat for fourth in the Belmont Stakes, while Saudi Crown  figures to provide the early pace in a race that was devoid of speed until he was dropped into the entry box.

In Forte's absence, Albaugh Family Stable's Angel of Empire was sent off as the 4-1 betting favorite in the Run for the Roses and rallied belatedly to take third, 1 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Mage. Brought back in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, the Pennsylvania-bred grade 1-winning son of Classic Empire   lacked a strong closing kick and finished a little less than a length behind Forte and 2 1/4 lengths in back of Arcangelo.

Gary and Mary West's homebred Hit Show, a Candy Ride   colt, started his 3-year-old campaign with a win in the 1 1/8-mile Withers Stakes (G3), then lost by a nose in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) before finishing fifth in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont.

"Angel of Empire and Hit Show are doing great. They have worked together the last two times at the Oklahoma track (at Saratoga) and from what I see physically they seem to be enjoying the Saratoga mornings," Cox said. "I think they are set up to run big races."

FMQ Stables' Saudi Crown  set the pace in the mile Dwyer Stakes (G3) before falling short by a nose to Fort Bragg  in a stirring stretch duel. It will be the fourth career start for the Always Dreaming   colt and his first around two turns.