Forte

The most accomplished horse in the field, Forte has his Kentucky Derby dreams dashed when he was scratched the morning of the race due to a bruised front leg. He had to sit out of the Preakness before returning on 10 weeks rest to finish a very strong second in the Belmont Stakes. He got back to his winning ways last time out by narrowly defeating Saudi Crown in the Jim Dandy (G2) here at Saratoga, which has been a key race for Travers success. He has won two of his three career races at The Spa and is the type of versatile horse that can sit whatever trip is necessary. The addition of blinkers in the Jim Dandy was a winning move for trainer Todd Pletcher as Forte was on the bit and much easier to handle early in the race for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. He should be back to full strength in his third race back since April. In a stacked field of contenders, his accomplishments simply stand above the rest.