'I got three of the greatest wins of my life' - Forte retired to Spendthrift Farm

Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's Forte, the champion two-year-old male of 2022, has been retired from racing and will begin a career as a stallion at Spendthrift Farm next year, according to co-owner Mike Repole.

Repole said the three-year-old had developed a quarter crack coming out of the August 26 Travers Stakes at Saratoga and that trainer Todd Pletcher said following an October 19 gallop at Keeneland that they had "run out of time" to prepare him for the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 4.

"I had Uncle Mo, Stay Thirsty and Vino Rosso but I think you could make a case that for two years he had the best career of any of the horses I've named," Repole said on Thursday. "This is a special horse."

The son of Violence crossed the wire first in seven of 10 starts for Pletcher. But he endured a tumultuous three-year-old season that included being scratched by regulatory veterinarians on the day of the Kentucky Derby when he was the morning-line favourite and a ruling five days later that the colt was disqualified after testing positive for the anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal meloxicam following his victory in the 2022 Hopeful Stakes. That decision is currently under appeal.

Equibase lists Forte as having earned $3,029,830, first across the finish in four grade 1s. His earnings would dip $165,000 if the disqualification from the Hopeful is upheld.

After the Kentucky Derby debacle, Forte ran in the Belmont Stakes and finished second despite not racing in 10 weeks. He then won the Jim Dandy Stakes and finished fourth as the 8-5 favourite in the Travers Stakes in what proved to be his final race.

"I can't tell you it was ideal," Repole said about Forte's three-year-old season. "But people dream about winning the Fountain of Youth, Florida Derby and Jim Dandy. I don't want to act like a spoiled owner. I got three of the greatest wins of my life. You want to talk highs and lows, it's called horse racing, It's called life. 

"A lot of people go through life with all lows and no highs."

Speculation that Forte would be retired was rampant in recent weeks as the son of the Blame mare Queen Caroline did not record a timed workout since the Travers.

Repole said the agreement with Spendthrift allowed Forte to race as a four-year-old, but he saw no point in keeping him training for races such as the Clark Handicap, Cigar Mile and Pegasus World Cup.

"The Clark and Cigar Mile are Grade 2s and I don't think winning them would do much for him. What else can a horse like this do? He's earned $3 million and to run in him in the Pegasus because it's a lot of money is not what I want to do," Repole said.

Forte in winning action at the Breeders' Cup last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

Repole and St Elias will be represented by Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Bright Future in the Classic. Repole said there was a 25 per cent chance that Pennsylvania Derby runner-up Dreamlike would also target the Classic. He added that both horses, which are co-owned by St Elias, would race next year.

Repole said that a decision on the status of 2022 champion three-year-old filly Nest, who is also owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, within the next 24-48 hours. She is a candidate for the Breeders' Cup Distaff and is also entered in the Fasig-Tipton November 'Night of the Stars' sale on November 7.

Bred by South Gate Farm in Kentucky, Forte was purchased for $110,000 from the Eaton Sales consignment at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

He won his career debut and then finished fourth in the Sanford Stakes. His victory in the Hopeful was a springboard to wins in the Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile that cemented an Eclipse Award as the division champion.

"Vinnie [Viola, of St Elias Stable] and I are blessed to have a horse like Forte who took us on a two-year journey. He couldn't run in the Kentucky Derby and that was tough and he couldn't run in the Breeders' Cup [Classic] and that's tough, too. But he's been on this stage before and he's won. He got an Eclipse Award and Breeders' Cup and it feels good," Repole said. "It's the right move for the horse."

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