Best Saturday Bets, What Fort Bragg Has To Do, And Why Beating Forte Is So Darn Hard

The Florida Derby is carrying the star this year in Todd Pletcher’s Forte, who’s five-for-six and coming on strong, which is something that the Stronachs will also be celebrating at Gulfstream today. In fairness, it’s quite a fair crop of colts and fillies out of Kentucky this year, and they had a remarkable, and remarkably closely followed, first year on the track through last fall and into the spring, largely a healthy state of affairs for the sport that we can, in part, say is the result of the intense buzz Forte is creating on the track and around the barns. His sudden cometlike status is the result of his wins, but not just. It’s reminescent of the trackside chatter around Justify a few years back, not to put too much of a hex on him at this early point.

But before we get into what Fort Bragg and Dubyuhnell have to do to get around Forte, herewith, a refresher view of the combatants:

Florida Derby: Post position, Horse, Trainer, Jockey, Morning Line

1. Jungfrau, Bill Mott, Paco Lopez, 20-1

2. West Coast Cowboy, Saffie Joseph Jr., Sonny Leon, 20-1

3. Shaq Diesel, Renaldo Richards, Miguel Vasquez, 30-1

4. Mage, Gustavo Delgado, Luis Saez, 10-1

5. Mr. Peeks, Saffie Joseph Jr., Edwin Gonzalez, 30-1

6. Nautical Star, Saffie Joseph Jr., Leonel Reyes, 30-1

7. Il Miracolo, Antonio Sano, Jesus Rios, 30-1

8. Mr. Ripple, Saffie Joseph Jr., Edgard Zayas, 30-1

9. Cyclone Mischief, Dale Romans, Javier Castellano, 8-1

10. Fort Bragg, Tim Yakteen, Joel Rosario, 5-1

11. Forte, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 4-5

12. Dubyuhnell, Danny Gargan, Jose Ortiz, 6-1

(Source: Gulfstream Park, 3/31/2023)

We’re delighted to be back with the Bluegrass Wise Man ™, our gifted Kentucky horseman from years past.

So, let’s go for the big boy.

Bluegrass Wise Man ™: I think it’s important to note that Forte’s started five times as a two-year-old, and it’s a funny thing, but there are some horses that are just born knowing how to be a racehorse already. Don’t need a lot of schooling or coaching or pondering. Forte is one of those. He is tough, he’s solid, and, for instance, in his one start this year he came at it off a four-month layoff and he won by four-and-a-half lengths. It was as if nothing had happened, he just woke up and went to the office again. That win replicated his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile win as far as speed figures go. Then, there’s this. He has competed at the top level in the class already and he is still improving. He has to be bigger and stronger since the Breeders’ Cup. He may very well be a player for the entire year, and we are not going to be able to avoid him today.