Forte already has a 2-year-old championship to his name. A Travers Stakes win next month would go a long way toward top 3-year-old honors.
Before he takes on that Grade 1 race, he will get a spin over the same Saratoga oval in Saturday’s featured event.
Forteis the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes. Post time from Saratoga is 5:45 p.m. EDT, with Fox showing the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old dirt routers.
Click here for Saratoga entries and results.
The Jim Dandy drew only a field of five. Three of those runners are trained by Brad Cox, included co-second choices Angel of Empire (5-2) and Saudi Crown (5-2).
This race serves as the traditional local prep for the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 26. Epicenter (2022) and Essential Quality (2021) both pulled off the Jim Dandy-Travers double over the last two summers.
Forte will try to follow that path after an unusual spring.
Off a Florida Derby (G1) victory, Forte was tabbed the Kentucky Derby morning-line favorite. State stewards scratched him the day of the race over the objections of trainer Todd Pletcher and co-owner Mike Repole, a move that also kept him out of the Preakness Stakes.
Forte competed in the Belmont Stakes on June 10 after not making a start in the prior two months. He put in a bid from sixth place and hit the wire second, 1 1/2 lengths shy of winner Arcangelo.
For Forte’s first start since the Belmont, Pletcher has added blinkers. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. retains the mount.
Saudi Crown will carry only 118 pounds compared to the 124 for both Angel of Empire and Forte. Making only his fourth start for Cox, he looks to move forward off a second-place effort July 1 at Belmont Park in the Dwyer Stakes (G3).
Stablemates Angel of Empire and Hit Show (6-1) both exit the Belmont, in which they dead-heated for fourth. One month prior, the former was third in the Kentucky Derby as the post-time favorite and the latter was fifth.
Disarm (6-1) split Angel of Empire and Hit Show in the Kentucky Derby, finishing fourth. The Steve Asmussen trainee bypassed the Preakness and Belmont, winning the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) on June 11 at Ellis Park.
Here is a look at the field for the 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes (trainers and jockeys in parentheses) with morning-line odds:
1. Disarm (Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario), 6-1
2. Forte (Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr.), 7-5
3. Hit Show (Brad Cox, Luis Saez), 6-1
4. Saudi Crown (Brad Cox, Florent Geroux), 5-2
5. Angel of Empire (Brad Cox, Flavien Prat), 5-2
TimeformUS pace projections show Saudi Crown going to the front Saturday under jockey Florent Geroux and getting a favorable setup. Favorite Forte is projected to rate from second.
Visit Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for more information on the Jim Dandy and some of Saturday’s other big events.
Jim Dandy links
Horse Racing Nation writers and staffers make Jim Dandy Stakes expert picks. See why many of the HRN team lean toward Saudi Crown.
Reinier Macatangay writes why Saudi Crown’s speed makes him the runner to beat in the Jim Dandy.Macatangay also writes that, while the Jim Dandy did not draw as strong of a field as last Saturday’s Haskell Stakes (G1), it remains playable for bettors.Finally, Macatangay wonders if a 3-year-old can become the Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite.
Laurie Ross and Ashley Tamulonis go head to head handicapping the Jim Dandy Stakes.
Forte owner Mike Repole, still upset over the champion’s Kentucky Derby day scratch, says he might leave horse racing if the sport does not change in the next few years.
“We’re under the radar as far as people talking about us,” owner Jason Loutsch said of Arkansas Derby (G1) winner and Jim Dandy starter Angel of Empire.
On the Ron Flatter Racing Pod, Fox Sports and New York Racing Association TV analyst Sara Elbadwi checks in from Saratoga to discuss Saturday’s Jim Dandy Stakes and Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1).
HorseCenter hosts Matt Shifman and Brian Zipse make Jim Dandy and Vanderbilt picks.Shifman analyzes the Jim Dandy field.
Other Saturday stakes
Here is a look at other graded stakes taking place Saturday across North America. All post times are EDT.
4:20 p.m. –$250,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3), 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles, Monmouth Park, FanDuel TV
Occult (3-1) drops in class for trainer Chad Brown off a third-place finish behind division leader Pretty Mischievous and Dorth Vader on June 9 in Belmont Park’s Acorn Stakes (G1). Jockey Feargal Lynch takes over the mount on the stakes-winning Into Mischief filly. Ray Handal trains Promiseher America (7-2), the Gazelle Stakes (G3) winner who finished last of 14 on May 5 at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). Foggy Night (4-1) has won back-to-back starts for trainer Butch Reid, including July 1 in the Delaware Oaks (G1).
4:26 p.m. –$350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1), 3-and-up, six furlongs, Saratoga, Fox
Elite Power (4-5), the champion male sprinter of 2022, has won his last seven starts, with his last race a True North Stakes (G2) score June 10 on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will be up on the 5-year-old son of Curlin for trainer Bill Mott. Steve Asmussen trains Gunite (8-5), a Saratoga Grade 1 winner who took the Aristides Stakes on June 3 at Churchill. Dean Delivers (8-1) made the grade July 1 for trainer Michael Yates at Gulfstream Park in the Smile Sprint Stakes (G3).
4:47 p.m. –$175,000 (about $132,000 U.S.) Seagram Cup Stakes (G2), 3-and-up, 1 1/16 miles (all-weather track), Woodbine, FanDuel TV
Tyson (2-5) is the heavy favorite for trainer Josie Carroll off a victory July 1 in the local Dominion Day Stakes (G3). Jockey Rafael Manuel Hernandez will ride the 4-year-old Tapit colt. Jorge Delgado trains Kingmax (3-1), whose first stakes start in North America comes off a July 7 allowance win at Monmouth. Carrothers (8-1) looks to bounce back off a ninth-place effort in the Dominion Day for trainer Martin Drexler.
8:39 p.m. –$300,000 San Diego Handicap (G2), 3-and-up, 1 1/16 miles, Del Mar, FanDuel TV
Defunded (8-5) became a two-time Grade 1 hero May 29 at Santa Anita when he won the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) at 3-5 odds. Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Juan Hernandez team up with the 5-year-old Dialed In gelding in this local prep for the $1 million Pacific Classic (G1) on Sept. 2. Doug O’Neill trains Slow Down Andy (5-1), a Grade 2 winner who returns to southern California after finishing sixth on the Belmont card in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1). Missed the Cut (5-1), a stakes winner in the U.K., makes his second U.S. start for trainer John Sadler after running second June 11 at Santa Anita in an allowance race.
9:39 p.m. –$400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1), 3-and-up, six furlongs, Del Mar, FanDuel TV
Dr. Schivel (7-2), whose two Grade 1 wins include the 2021 Bing Crosby, leads this race that awards its victor a Breeders’ Cup Sprint “win and you’re in” berth. Trainer Mark Glatt will give Hernandez a leg up on the 5-year-old son of Violence, who was fifth in the Met Mile. George Papaprodromou trains Spirit of Makena (4-1), whose three straight triumphs include the Triple Bend Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs May 27 at Santa Anita. The Chosen Vron (4-1), trained by Eric Kruljac, has won 12 of his 16 career starts and each of his last seven, most recently May 28 at Santa Anita in the Thor’s Echo Stakes for California-bred runners.
