Coach Todd Pletcher is no stranger to brilliant 2-year-olds. Going into 2022, he already has two junior champions and two Breeders’ Cup minors (G1) wins, plus six Champagne Stakes (G1) wins. ) and three in Hopeful Stakes (G1), New York’s top two tournaments for minors.
By year’s end, most of those totals were up as Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Forte compiled what was rated as the most productive season by one of Pletcher’s 2-year-old ponies. The son of Violence posted three grade 1 scores with Futures of Hope and Breeder wins ahead of a decisive 1 and a half long score in Juvenile, which earned the student the honor of being named the Eclipse Prize champion for boys 2 years old in January .26 holidays.
“You could argue he’s the most accomplished 2-year-old we’ve ever had and we’ve been lucky enough to have a few champions,” Pletcher said. “He’s as dominant as any 2-year-old we’ve ever had. What he does is very hard to do. You don’t have much of a chance to win 1st grade bets with a 2-year-old and he does. was near-perfect.”
Bred by South Gate Farm in Kentucky in addition to Blame like Queen Caroline, Forte won four of his five starts, losing only at the Sanford Stakes (G3), his second start.
After the battle of Sanford, he went back to claim Hopeful in three long runs and then on his first attempt at two turns he won by neck in Keeneland‘s Breeders’ Future at a distance of one mile sixteen. Four weeks later, he returned to Keeneland as second pick 5-1 and added Juvenile to his résumé, the same gap as Breeders’ Futurity and beating the favorites 2-5 stone cave Juvenile runner-up and another Eclipse finalist, along with Breeders’ Cup winner Juvenile Turf (G1T) Victoria Street .
“Winners of the Breeders’ Cup for minors have a great advantage in voting for the Eclipse Award,” says Pletcher. “But when you finish it with two other 1st graders and combine it with a big Breeders’ Cup win over the other top contender in Cave Rock, that solidifies the deal for him.”
Purchased by owners Mike Repole of Repole Stable and Vinnie and Teresa Viola of St. Elias Stable for $110,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Forte is Repole’s second juvenile champion who teamed up with Pletcher to win the prize in 2010 with Uncle Mo is now a leading stallion.
