Pletcher: Forte, back on the track at Churchill, will try Preakness if all goes well this week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Scratched Kentucky Derby favorite Forte was back on the Churchill Downs track Monday, under the watchful eye of trainer Todd Pletcher.

The 2-year-old champion galloped around the track, two days after being scratched by the state’s chief veterinarian. Forte was the morning line and betting favorite to win the Kentucky Derby at the time he was scratched.

Pletcher did not speak with the media after being informed of that decision. Later, he told NBC, “They just didn't feel like he was 100%. It's a tough call. Obviously, we are in an environment (where) scrutiny is super high. I'm not sure in some years it would have been an issue. But this year, it was.”

”As we know, you’ve got to be good on the one particular day,” Pletcher told reporters on Monday. “And there are no makeups. We’ve just got to adjust, move on and focus on trying to prepare him the best we can for the Preakness.”

Pletcher said Monday that Forte will have a work on Friday or Saturday at Churchill Downs, and that if all goes well he’ll likely head to the Preakness Stakes.

Forte developed a bruise after training last Wednesday. Pletcher said the colt had improved every day since and was proclaimed fit to run by three veterinarians that he had check the colt. But the atmosphere at Churchill Downs was ultra-cautious after four racehorse deaths during the week, and the trainer said he understood that.

On Monday, he said that the bruise was completely healed.

”That’s completely subsided right now. Right now, I’d say we’re looking good to breeze for the Preakness. If we’re happy with that, that’s what we’re thinking.”

Should Forte go in the Preakness, he would likely meet up with Kentucky Derby winner Mage, a colt he beat in the Florida Derby and the Fountain of Youth.

After winning the Derby, Mage assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr., said of the favorite, “We know he is talented. We respected the horse a lot coming into the race. At the end of the day, I think the horse was going to be fine, from what we have been hearing. We will face him down the line. We lost a horse at the beginning of the week. He's not coming back. (Wild on Ice) . . . So that's when I really feel like there's no chance. Forte is hopefully going to be fine, and we will face him later again.”

And perhaps sooner than later.

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