Forte Wins, Saudi Crown Places, And Angel Of Empire Shows

Todd Pletcher’s ever-so-gentle bet that Forte would respond well to blinkers by concentrating a bit more on his business paid off handsomely in the Jim Dandy on a muddy track at Saratoga on Saturday, as his horse took the win without serious problems, or more pointedly, a lapse of attention to his run.

Forte had gone off as the favorite at 3-5. Brad Cox’s Saudi Crown, whom the money and the trackside gossip had liked well before post time better than his more experienced stablemate Angel of Empire, placed, and the latter Cox-trained runner showed. Saudi Crown went off at 3-1, and Angel of Empire was at 5-1 when the windows closed at the track. Forte paid $3.50, Saudi Crown paid $4.10, and Angel of Empire paid $2.70.

Disarm, whom the late money at Saratoga liked well enough to have him at 9-2, or a half-point lower than Angel of Empire, shortly before post time, ran a disappointing fourth. Hit Show, who had gone off at 10-1, ran a dispiriting but predictable last.

For Forte’s part, it was always his race to lose. The race, and not least, the challenge of the muddy track, did exactly the service that his trainer, Pletcher, and his jockey, Irad Ortiz, had hoped it would: It settled him, and settled some lingering questions about his robust tactical flexibility. He’ll bunk in nicely in the Pletcher barn at Saratoga for the next few weeks, and will be hotly awaited by the early birds trackside when he takes his next work.