The Forte colts, withdrawn at the last minute from the Kentucky Derby, and Tapit Trice, Mage's seventh in the same competition, are aiming for the Belmont Stakes, the last rung of the American Triple Crown, announced for next Saturday June 10 at the Belmont Park sand in distance of 2.400 meters.
Forte, a son of Violence in Queen Caroline, by Blame, with a record of six wins in seven appearances, made a pass of 800 in 50.00 with a finish of 1200 and, it seems, is fully recovered from the injuries that kept him away from the first two tests of the equestrian trilogy.
The Todd A. Pletcher-trained man is a winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Florida Derby, the latter two at Gulfstream Park.
Dapple Tapit Trice, winner of four races in six starts, suffered some setbacks that did not allow him a better performance in the Derby and now he will seek revenge in the so-called Champions Test.
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Tapit Trice is a son of Tapit in Danzatrice, by Dunkirk, winner of the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
Another who must respond to the call of the Belmont Stakes is Angel of Empire, Mage's third in the Kentucky Derby in a ferocious run over that will seek to take advantage of the 400 more meters of the race to crystallize the run over.
The son of Classic Empire in Armony's Angel, by To Honor, trained by Brad H. Cox, is the winner of four races in seven starts and before his performance in the Kentucky, he joined the Arkansas Derby with the effective riding of Flavien Prat.
Also nominated for the Belmont Stakes call is Kingsbarns, winner of the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and then failed in the Kentucky Derby with many mishaps early on and at a breather distance he could advance late on.
