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Forte garners career-best 105 BSF for G2 Jim Dandy triumph

by NYRA Press Ofiice

• Forte garners career-best 105 BSF for G2 Jim Dandy triumph
• Cody’s Wish ‘smooth as silk’ in final breeze for G1 Whitney; Elite Power registers career-high 108 BSF in G1 A. G. Vanderbilt conquest
• G1-winner Zandon works for G1 Whitney
• New York Thunder eyes G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial
• Carson’s Run makes memorable Spa debut

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Forte was awarded a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his gutsy nose victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by DK Horse, a nine-furlong main track test for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Forte notched the win after stalking along the rail behind the pace set by Saudi Crown and angling around that foe into the turn to make his bid for the lead under regular pilot Irad Ortiz, Jr. He brushed with Grade 1-winner Angel of Empire to his outside and needed to squeeze his way through as Saudi Crown drifted out, but found enough late to get his nose down first in a final time of 1:49.61.

“There was a lot going on and he was boxed in there for a little while and pushed his way through,” said Pletcher, who won a record-extending seventh Jim Dandy. “The horse on the lead drifted all the way from the rail to the six or seven path and was carrying everyone out with him. They came back together right at the end and fortunately he [Forte] was able to surge and get his head in front.”

Pletcher said despite a hard stretch battle, Forte emerged from the effort in good order.

“He came back very well and his energy level is good,” said Pletcher. “He had a well-deserved nap this morning and I liked the way he looked last night after the race and this morning.”

Pletcher noted that a key takeaway from the effort was Forte’s ability to hold position in the final turn, something he struggled with when winning the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park and when finishing a rallying second in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets at Belmont Park.

“The one thing that seemed to help him was that he maintained his position in the far turn, which was one of the things that we didn’t like about the Florida Derby and the Belmont,” said Pletcher, who opted to add blinkers to Forte for the first time in the afternoon in the Jim Dandy. “He had kind of put himself at a disadvantage in the far turn of those races, where in this case he held his ground. I think the blinkers helped to keep him more focused.”

Forte burst onto the scene last year with a strong three-length victory in the Spa’s Grade 1 Hopeful, and followed with additional Grade 1 coups when stretching out to two turns at Keeneland in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Forte has continued to excel around two turns as a sophomore, adding to his resume with wins in Gulfstream Park’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby this spring ahead of his game runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.

Forte has flashed his talents both at sprint and route distances, and is just the second Hopeful winner in the past 10 years to have won around two turns. He is the only horse in that time frame to have won at distances beyond one-mile. The last Hopeful winner to have won beyond one-mile was the Pletcher-trained Shanghai Bobby, who, like Forte, won the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2012.

Pletcher said Forte’s success in stretching out beyond the recent trend for Hopeful winners proves his natural ability.

“I think it speaks of his quality that he was able to accomplish what he did early on,” said Pletcher. “He broke his maiden sprinting and came back and was able to win the Hopeful, but we always thought he was a horse looking for two turns. He proved that in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup, and subsequently this year.”

Forte will face added ground again in his next likely start as Pletcher points the dark bay colt to the 10-furlong Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26 at the Spa. Pletcher is in search of his third win in the prestigious test for sophomores and successfully pulled off the Jim Dandy/Travers double with both of his Travers champions: Flower Alley in 2005 and Stay Thirsty in 2011. 

“It’s exciting and we’ve been fortunate that both our Travers winners came out of the Jim Dandy,” Pletcher said. “We’d love to do it again.”

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Cody’s Wish ‘smooth as silk’ in final breeze for G1 Whitney; Elite Power registers career-high 108 BSF in G1 A. G. Vanderbilt conquest

If there is such a thing as perfect, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said he saw it in Godolphin’s Cody’s Wish’s final half-mile tune up for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney at Saratoga Race Course. The Whitney offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.

Under clear skies and temperatures in the 60s, Cody’s Wish visited the Oklahoma training track following the renovation break under Neil Poznansky and clocked the first quarter mile in 24 2/5 seconds before finishing in 48.28 seconds. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:01 4/5 and seven furlongs in 1:27. 

“I thought it was perfect. If there is such a thing as a perfect work. Neil did a perfect job. The warm up was good, the breeze went well, he went off easily enough,” Mott said. “He was off in 12 and 2 or 3. He came home well. He let him off the bridle a little bit at the eighth pole and he finished up his last quarter very nicely. We didn’t make him gallop out too much today, obviously. We’re right on top of the race.”

Mott said Cody’s Wish can be a difficult horse to work and credited Poznansky for his safe hands and good judgment.

“He’s not easy to work because he can go too fast. You have to have someone on him that knows what they’re doing,” Mott said. “He looked beautiful when he was working. He was smooth as silk. But fortunately, we have someone as talented and experienced as Neil. Even he says the horse is a little bit difficult to judge in his works how fast he’s going because he does it so easily, you don’t realize how fast he’s going sometimes. He’s not the only horse that’s been that way. Usually, you’ll find the occasional good horse that’s hard to read how fast they’re going.”

Cody’s Wish, a Kentucky homebred, will attempt his seventh straight victory when he lines up in the nine-furlong Whitney. The Curlin bay horse enters from four consecutive Grade 1 scores, taking last year’s Forego at Saratoga and the two-turn Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile before making his 5-year-old debut a winning one in the seven-furlong Churchill Downs on May 6. He last raced when capturing the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 10 at Belmont Park.

Cody’s Wish will look to be the first horse to sweep the Met Mile-Whitney double since fellow Godolphin color-bearer Frosted in 2016.

While Cody’s Wish is in the midst of a winning streak, the same can be said for Juddmonte’s aptly named Elite Power, who captured his eighth straight victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap going six furlongs at the Spa. The 5-year-old chestnut has done no wrong since breaking his maiden by nine lengths last June at Churchill Downs. Following two wins at allowance-optional claiming level, he captured the Grade 2 Vosburgh at Belmont at the Big A before sealing Champion Male Sprinter honors with a 1 1/4-length win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland.

Elite Power kicked off his year with a triumphant international endeavor in Saudi Arabia’s Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racecourse before winning the Grade 2 True North on June 10 at Belmont Park en route to the Vanderbilt, where he earned a career-high 108 Beyer Speed Figure.

Things didn’t come easy in the Vanderbilt for Elite Power, who contested a sloppy and sealed track for the first time. He settled in fourth down the backstretch and did not appear poised for victory at the quarter-pole with Grade 1-winning millionaire Gunite three lengths in front. But Elite Power had dead aim on Gunite and collared his foe in the final strides to win by a head.

“He looked great this morning,” Mott said. “I was very impressed just because I

feel that when you have a sloppy or muddy track like that, it gives the advantage to the horse three in front turning for home. If you have to make up that much ground on a sloppy or muddy track, it can be difficult, so I give the horse a lot of credit for being able to do that. The horse be beat was running and he’s a very good horse, too. He’s in good form. I have to be pleased and I am pleased.”

Mott indicated that the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Forego on August 26 at Saratoga would be Elite Power’s likely next start. The last horse to sweep the Vanderbilt-Forego double was A.P. Indian in 2016.

In addition to being in winning form, both Elite Power and Cody’s Wish are sons of multiple Champion producing stallion Curlin.

“We’re trying to start an advertising campaign for Curlin,” Mott quipped.

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G1-winner Zandon works for G1 Whitney

Jeff Drown’s Zandon worked a half-mile in 49.24 seconds Sunday over the Spa’s main track in preparation for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney, a nine-furlong route for older horses. The Whitney offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.

"The breeze went super and the horse is doing great. I'm looking forward to running him,"  said four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, who is in search of his first Whitney win.

The 4-year-old Upstart colt captured the Grade 1 Blue Grass last April at Keeneland en route to a close third-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby when 1 1/2-lengths back of the victorious Rich Strike. He has hit the board in 5-of-6 starts since the Derby – all in graded events - including a last-out second to returning Whitney rival Cody’s Wish in the Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 10 at Belmont Park.

Brown said Zandon will benefit from a return to two-turns after showing determination to best Grade 1-winner White Abarrio by a head for place honors in the Met Mile.

"I was very pleased with his effort. He showed a lot of heart to be second. Clearly, he was second best in the race. Cody's Wish is arguably the best dirt horse in training in this country, so a lot of respect for him,” Brown said. “Our horse is doing fine and I think he's better around two turns. He's got a tall order here. It probably won't be a big field, but it's a very strong field with Cody's Wish and some other top horses. He's got his work cut out for him, but I really like the way the horse is doing and I like him at a mile and an eighth. I think that's his best distance. I'm just hoping he runs the race of his life and is able to spring an upset."

Zandon, who sports a record of 11-2-5-3 for purse earnings in excess of $1.7 million, made two Spa starts last summer – both in events won by eventual Champion 3 Year-Old Colt Epicenter – when second in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and third in the Grade 1 Travers.

Bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones, the $170,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Creative Cause mare Memories Prevail, who is a half-sister to dual graded stakes-winner Cairo Memories.

Other notables on the work tab Sunday for Brown were Champion Female Sprinter Goodnight Olive, who worked a half-mile in 48.03 over the main track and Grade 1 Diana-winner Whitebeam, who went a half-mile in 48.88 over the Oklahoma training turf.

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New York Thunder eyes G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial

AMO Racing USA’s New York Thunder broke sharply to the lead in Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam and did not look back, winning the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomores by 7 1/2-lengths and earning a lifetime high Beyer Speed Figure of 110 under jockey Tyler Gaffalione.

Trained by Jorge Delgado, New York Thunder entered with a perfect 3-for-3 lifetime record, with a win most recently in the six-furlong Woodstock Stakes over Tapeta at Woodbine Racetrack in April, and prior to that wins in a turf allowance and synthetic track maiden sprints this winter at Gulfstream Park.

Leading up to the Amsterdam, the bay Nyquist colt strung together multiple impressive workouts at Monmouth Park, including two half-mile bullet breezes in June and an eye-popping 46.40 work on May 27. There was still a major question mark of the 3-year-old having never raced on dirt, but Delgado said Gaffalione believed in New York Thunder’s speed.

“[Gaffalione] came immediately with a description of every horse in the race, and I told him you got this, just go, I have full confidence in you,” said Delgado. “Every time I looked at the race, I looked at it a different way. I thought maybe the one [Drew’s Gold] goes, maybe Ryvit goes, maybe we sit behind them, but I left it in Tyler’s hands and his plan worked out perfectly.”

Ryvit stumbled out of the gate from post 5 as New York Thunder broke alertly from the outermost post 6 and set blazing fractions of 21.48 seconds and 43.56 over the fast main track.

Gaffalione successfully mounted a three-length lead by the stretch, shaking odds-on favorite Drew’s Gold from his side around the half-mile pole. New York Thunder’s lead widened under little urging, and he finished in a final time of 1:14.65.

New York Thunder’s six-furlong split in the Amsterdam of 1:07.77 is faster than Saratoga’s six-furlong track record of 1:07.92 set by Imperial Hint in the 2019 Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, and the colt's geared down final time was not far off of Quality Road's track record of 1:13.74 set in the 2009 Amsterdam.

Delgado said New York Thunder returned to Monmouth Park from the victory in good order.

“He came back to the barn in good shape, happy and proud. As fast as he is, you can see in the races that he’s a very, very quiet horse,” Delgado said. “He doesn’t even move. He’s just chilling in his stall, enjoying the days off.”

Delgado will resume New York Thunder’s training shortly, pointing him towards the seven-furlong, Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 26.

“If everything goes right and everything keeps normal, that race is highly possible. That is my, ‘Plan A,’” Delgado said, also admitting that thoughts of a possible start in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint down the line have started to creep into his mind after the impressive victory.

New York Thunder was purchased for $130,000 at the 2021 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale. Bred in Kentucky by Gatewood Bell and Forgotten Land, New York Thunder is out of the Midshipman mare Start Over, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Degree of Risk. His third dam, Surf Club, produced 2012 Grade 1 Forego-winner Emcee.

***

Carson’s Run makes memorable Spa debut

By now, racing fans have grown familiar with the heartwarming story of Cody’s Wish. But the winner of Saturday’s opener Carson’s Run has a similar backstory.

Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey, Carson’s Run, a 2-year-old son of Cupid, was triumphant in his career debut going 1 1/16 miles over the Spa inner turf. The chestnut colt is named in honor of Carson Jost who, like Cody’s Wish’s namesake Cody Dorman, was born with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Carson is the son of Wade Jost, a former classmate of West Point Thoroughbreds’ founder Terry Finley at the United States Military Academy.

Jost was previously a West Point partner on stakes-placed Cali Dude after winning a charity contest in 2019. He got back involved with West Point with Carson’s Run after Finley agreed to name a horse in honor of his son.

“I think it really gave their family some hope,” Finley said. “When you see things like that and the inspiration there, it can only help. This business really changes a lot of lives and I know [Saturday], that family’s changed in a very nice way. We’ve been trying to get him a horse for a couple of years and it just didn’t come together. Finally, I bought this horse and called Wade and he said, ‘I’m in.’”

Trained by Christophe Clement, Carson’s Run was five lengths off the pace down the backstretch and went 5-to-6 wide in upper stretch after being asked by jockey Dylan Davis. He took command inside the eighth pole to win by a neck.

“I thought he handled himself really well as all the Clement horses do,” Finley said. “You have to pay attention and it doesn’t take long to be around the Clements - the father, the son [Miguel] and the whole team - to realize that they pay a lot of attention to detail and little things. That makes a difference, especially on the turf because there’s not a whole lot between first and fourth.”

Finley said Carson’s Run could target the Grade 3, $175,000 With Anticipation on August 31 going 1 1/16 miles on the grass at Saratoga.

Bred in Kentucky by Frankfort Park Farm, Carson’s Run is the first progeny out of the Henny Hughes mare Hot N Hectic. He was purchased for $170,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.