COLUMN adiyat racing plus.com 23 ADIYAT RACING PLUS ISSUE 792 Thursday 6th April 2023 "GETTING BETTER AND BETTER" “He just continues to amaze us. He gets better and better,” Pletcher said. “He handled the stretch out to a mile and an eighth great and actually probably ran a mile and three sixteenths today (considering how wide he travelled). It gives you a lot of confidence moving forward.” Even though he became somewhat sweaty in the warm Florida weather during the post parade, Forte kept himself together despite a large and noisy crowd and lengthy pre-race activities, another good sign prior to the raucousness he will face at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. “He gained a lot of experience today. That experience hopefully pays off down the road,” Pletcher observed. While Forte is by far the standout among American 3yos at this stage, as well as the overall leader by Kentucky Derby qualifying points with 190, he will still have to overcome the hurdles and opposition ahead. His rivals in Louisville are expected to include not only impressive Arkansas Derby winner Angel Of Empire but two Japanese runners emerging from the UAE Derby in winner Derma Sotogake and third placed Continuar, the latter earning the trip to Kentucky via qualifying points from his Cattleya Stakes win at Tokyo in November. Of course, nothing is easy in racing at the top level. Yet so far, Forte has more than lived up to his name (which means a pursuit or activity at which someone excels) through his near perfect record with six wins and earnings of over $2.4 million. He also has the Classic genes for the job ahead, descending from the same female family as Godolphin mare Contrive, who produced American champion Folklore, later known as the granddam of Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail, and Delightful Quality, dam of Godolphin’s twice champion and Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality. Forte is the kind of colt who gets people excited about horse racing. He also is the kind of colt who could not only harvest a Classic crown this year, but who could bring the Dubai World Cup trophy back to America in 2024. FORTE HAS MORE THAN LIVED UP TO HIS NAME THROUGH HIS NEAR PERFECT RECORD WITH SIX WINS AND EARNINGS OF OVER $2.4 MILLION. HE ALSO HAS THE CLASSIC GENES FOR THE JOB AHEAD, DESCENDING FROM THE SAME FEMALE FAMILY AS GODOLPHIN MARE CONTRIVE, WHO PRODUCED AMERICAN CHAMPION FOLKLORE. Forte
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