Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 2-year-old colt Forte served notice on Friday when romping to a 7 3/4-length win in his debut at Belmont Park for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Sent off the 2-5 favorite under Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte stalked the pace along the inside, took over at the top of the stretch and extended his lead before being wrapped-up late. The final time for five furlongs on a fast track was 58.21 seconds.
.@PletcherRacing sends out 2YO first time starter FORTE to breaks his maiden under @iradortiz in the opener at #BelmontPark!
Watch all the action on #ADATR on FS2 ?? pic.twitter.com/PvQry2FvaO
— NYRA (??) (@TheNYRA) May 27, 2022
Next up for Forte will be a likely start in the $175,000 Sanford (G3) at Saratoga on July 16, Pletcher said on America's Day at the Races.
By Violence out the Blame mare Queen Caroline, Forte was a $110,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September yearling sale. He worked four times last month at Palm Beach Downs before shipping north to Belmont Park. He entered with two-straight gate works at Belmont Park, including a bullet four-furlong drill in 48.0 seconds May 20.
