Tapit Trice and Forte emerged well from their respective third- and fourth-place finishes in Saturday's Travers (G1), trainer Todd Pletcher reported Sunday.
“They're doing good,” Pletcher said. “Both of them looked well this morning.”
Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's Blue Grass (G1) winner Tapit Trice, fitted with blinkers for the first time in the 154th Travers, found himself closer to the lead than he had been in recent starts despite breaking a step slow and was still within one length after one mile but was unable to catch the winner, Arcangelo, or Disarm, who rallied up the rail for second.
Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Tapit Trice wound up beaten 3 1/2 lengths. He also ran third by 1 1/2 lengths to Arcangelo in the Belmont Stakes (G1) June 10.
“He got a bit of a wide trip around the first turn, but he got involved and I thought he stayed on steadily through the lane,” Pletcher said. “It was a good third-place effort.”
Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte, the champion 2-year-old male of 2022 who went off as the 8-5 Travers favorite, broke from the rail but lost his inside position to Arcangelo early on and trailed each of his six rivals through the first quarter-mile of the Travers.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was forced to swing well wide in an effort to make up ground, but Forte was unable close on the muddy main track and wound up 4 1/2 lengths behind his stablemate, beaten eight lengths for it all. Forte, who began the year with wins in the Fountain of Youth (G1) and Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, finished second to Arcangelo in the Belmont and went into the Travers off a gutsy nose triumph in the Jim Dandy (G2) July 29 at Saratoga.
“It was kind of odd how things unfolded going into the first turn, that we ended up outside the eventual winner,” Pletcher said. “He kind of lost some position there and got shuffled all the way back to last, and then had to go wide to kind of get back involved and just kind of ran evenly from there.”
Pletcher indicated no decision has been made on where either of Tapit Trice or Forte will run next.
“Not yet,” he said. “We'll give it a few days to see how they are and come up with a game plan.”
The post Pletcher: Forte, Tapit Trice In Good Order After Travers; Next Starts TBD appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
