GII Jim Dandy S. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Blinkers On For Forte

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte (Violence) worked in blinkers Saturday morning at Saratoga Race Course and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said the colt will have them on in the GII Jim Dandy on July 29.

“We just want to get him a little bit more locked in,” he said.

Pletcher described the small blinker is a French cup with some holes in it.

Under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., Forte, who worked in company with MGSW Emmanuel, breezed a half-mile on the main track in :50. Emmanuel remains on target for the Aug. 12 GI Fourstardave H.

Pletcher said he was happy with Forte's work.

“I thought he went really well,” he said. “He was enjoying himself out there.”

It was Forte's second breeze this summer at Saratoga after covering a half-mile in :48.90 July 14.

“I feel like he lost focus a little bit in the [GI] Florida Derby in the middle of the turn and in the [GI] Belmont. It might have cost him the Belmont,” Pletcher said.

He continued, “Irad and I had a conversation after that work about possibly trying some blinkers on him. We galloped him in them one day this week and it seemed like that went fine. Irad felt like he was a little more focused on what he was asking him to do rather than what the horse next to him was doing. If we were going to try an equipment change, we felt like the Jim Dandy would be the race to do it in and not wait until the Travers if we felt we needed to make a change.”

Forte has won six of eight career starts and was the 2-year-old male champion last year after compiling consecutive Grade I victories in the Hopeful, the Breeders' Futurity and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

He opened his 2023 campaign with a 4 1/2-length victory in the GI Fountain of Youth. In the Florida Derby he made a huge rally in the stretch to overtake Mage (Good Magic) and win by one length. Forte, the morning-line favorite, was scratched from the Kentucky Derby the morning of the race because of a bruised foot. He was second in the Belmont, 1 1/2 lengths behind Arcangelo (Arrogate).

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Forte To Jim Dandy; Hoosier Philly Targets CCA Oaks; Webslinger Points To Saratoga Derby

Trainer Todd Pletcher has confirmed Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's MGISW Forte (Violence) for the GII Jim Dandy S. July 29 at Saratoga Race Course.

The 3-year-old colt will use the race as a prep for the GI Travers S. Aug. 26, which the Hall of Famer won with Flower Alley [2005] and Stay Thirsty [2011].

“It was a tough call,” said Pletcher. “We just felt like shipping up here, getting him used to the track, two Travers winners we previously had have done that.”

Pletcher added that Forte will likely breeze on Friday morning over the Saratoga main track following the renovation break.

Also looking to make a Saratoga start is GSW Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief), who recorded her first work on Wednesday in preparation for the GI Coaching Club American Oaks July 22 for trainer Tom Amoss.

Hoosier Philly | Coady Photography

The 3-year-old gray filly logged a half-mile breeze over the main track in 49.49 seconds with regular pilot Edgar Morales up in her second move since winning the Monomoy Girl S. June 17 at Ellis Park.

“It was a typical work for her and Edgar Morales flew up to work her,” said Amoss. “It was a good work with a strong gallop out. That's her M.O. She's doing fine and she came out of it in good shape. Our plan is to run in the Coaching Club.”

One other runner that will be headed upstate is D.J. Stable's GSW Webslinger (Constitution). Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said the 3-year-old gelding, who was last seen running fourth July 8 in the GI Belmont Derby, will take on the next leg of NYRA's Turf Triple in the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational.

“Unfortunately, he got shuffled back [in the Belmont Derby] and Javier [Castellano] had no choice but to go around,” Casse said. “I'm not sure how much farther he ran than everybody else, but it was much farther than he got beat by, that's for sure. He came out good and will aim for the Saratoga Derby.”

Webslinger | Horsephotos

With a win, Webslinger will have a shot at an automatic berth into the G1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate to be held Oct. 28 at Moonee Valley Racing Club in Victoria, Australia.

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Mage Returns To Work Tab

Mage (Good Magic) recorded his first published workout since winning the GI Kentucky Derby when he breezed five furlongs in 1:07.20 at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington Friday morning. His connections have yet to decide on his next start.

“We gave him 17 days without a saddle or, obviously, going to the track, so he got a really big break,” said co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “He was kind of getting a bit bored and wanting to do something so it was time to get him rolling. He has been back on the track for a little under two weeks now. This was his first leg-stretcher. It was a little wake up call. This was not a matter of tightening the screws. It was more like his first day back in the gym.”

Restrepo said that no one should read too much into how slow the time of the work was.

“He had a little over two weeks of doing absolutely nothing and kind of laying out,” he said. “The last thing you would want is to rip him out of the gate. It was more of a strong gallop that was recorded as a breeze. It was the first work back, so the time has nothing to do with it. It was to show we're back in workout mode. We've never cared about his times in works. There's a bigger objective here than the time of a workout. You don't get prize money or trophies for winning in the mornings. It's just a fitness thing to get him up and at them.”

Restrepo said that three options are being discussed regarding where Mage will run next. They are the GI Haskell S., the GII Jim Dandy S. or the GI Travers.

“Whether we point him to the Jim Dandy, the Haskell or go straight to the Travers, there's a 33 percent chance with all three,” he said. “It's going to be a matter of seeing how he's doing once we get him on a steady work pattern. The No. 1 goal is to make it to the Travers. Bar none, the Travers is the big show for us. He's obviously proven at the mile and a quarter. He'll be shipping to Saratoga sooner rather than later.”

Also, yet to be resolved is what Javier Castellano will do in the event that Mage and GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) show up in the same race. If both stay healthy, they will likely face each other sometime this summer, perhaps in the Travers.

“So many things can happen and we are quite a ways away from when he races again, so we haven't even broached the subject with Javier regarding what his decision might be or what his thoughts are,” Restrepo said. “Let's not put the cart before the horse. Let's get him in race shape and then we will start having those discussions with Javier.”

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Cox Talks Haskell, Jim Dandy, San Diego H. on Writer’s Room

Fresh off his win in the GI Haskell S. with Cyberknife (Gun Runner), trainer Brad Cox joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week. There was plenty to talk about as Cox's stable remains one of the hottest in the sport and he will send out GIII Ohio Derby winner Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) in Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga and 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun (Into Mischief) in Saturday's GII San Diego H. at Del Mar.

Cox was understandably proud of the win by Cyberknife in the Haskell, who is the only 3-year-old dirt male in the country to have won two Grade I races this year. It was the trainer's second straight victory in the signature race of the Monmouth Park meet, but his first in which his horse crossed the wire first. In 2021, Mandaloun was placed first via disqualification after Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) was taken down because of interference.

“It was a big performance for Mandaloun last year,” Cox said. “He was battling back and we were very proud of his effort. But, in the moment, it's it feels a little better to cross the wire first as opposed to having to wait for the stewards' decision, to say the least.”

Cyberknife will go next in the GI Runhappy Travers S., where he could be joined by Tawny Port. But first, Tawny Port, will have to tackle a tough assignment in the Jim Dandy.

“He's a good colt and I know he's improving physically,” Cox said of Tawny Port. “He looks amazing. His color's good. Like I said, he's moving great. I think he likes Saratoga. I'm hoping that there's some sort of pace presence. Oftentimes, we don't get that in a short field. But I'm hoping that there's some pace and those horses can work on each other early. He's the type of horse who will definitely like the mile and an eighth and should like the Saratoga surface.”

Mandaloun, coming off a fourth-place finish in the GII Stephen Foster S., has headed west to join a field in the San Diego that is topped by GI Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer.

“Hopefully, this race can jump start what will be a great second half for him,” Cox said.

Cox is coming off a sensational 2021 in which his stable earned $31,715,312, won 30 graded stakes races and campaigned the Horse of the Year in Knicks Go (Paytner) and the 3-year-old male champion in Essential Quality (Tapit). But, by no means, was Cox ever prepared to rest on his laurels.

“Our horses performed extremely well last year,” he said. “So that was something that we're hoping we can build off of and continue to move forward. You just want to be relevant and be competitive at the graded stakes level. Hopefully, some of these horses are developing and we can be a factor in the Breeders' Cup. You just try to increase your numbers every year. I'm not certain we can eclipse the earnings mark that we had last year, but we're working every day in order to try to achieve that.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds, The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers took a look at the latest developments concerning the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority, which lost a round in court this week, the future of TVG now that it is reportedly about to be renamed FanDuel TV and the robust business thus far at the Del Mar meet.

To view the latest episode of Writer's Room, click here and for the audio only version, click here.

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