Forte, the 2-year-old male champion of 2022, has been retired from racing, co-owner Mike Repole announced Thursday afternoon.
He will stand stud at Spendthrift Farm in 2024.
Forte has not run since he finished fourth in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 26. He was battling a quarter crack early in the fall that kept trainer Todd Pletcher from being able to work him and ultimately time ran out to make the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“This is a Todd quote, 'we ran out of time,' " Repole, who co-owns Forte with Vinnie and Teresa Viola, said Thursday afternoon. “This is the right move for the horse. He’s been extremely special. He’s been one of the funnest horses I’ve owned.”
Asked if there was the chance of making it to a race like the Clark or Cigar Mile -- Grade 2 stakes later this fall at Churchill Downs and Aqueduct, respectively -- and possibly the Grade 1 Pegasus in January at Gulfstream Park, Repole said, “I don’t think winning the Clark or Cigar Mile would have done anything different for him,” he said.
“You think about what else can a horse like this do?” Repole added. “To run in the Pegasus because it’s a lot of money is not what I want to do.”
Forte, a son of Violence, had a successful albeit star-crossed career. He won four of five starts at age 2, capped by victories in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile four weeks apart at Keeneland last fall.
Forte also won the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga in August 2022, but that result is under review as he tested positive for banned substance, Meloxicam, that is typically used by humans to treat arthritis. The New York Gaming Commission has disqualified Forte from the win in that race, but Repole and the Violas are contesting that decision, claiming contamination.
At 3, Forte won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in February and the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream setting him up as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby.
But a few days before the race, Forte developed a bruised foot and was ultimately scratched by the Kentucky state veterinarian the morning of the Derby. He was placed on a 14-day vet’s list, which also also kept him out of the Preakness.
Forte ran in the Belmont Stakes and finished a credible second, 1 1/2 lengths behind Arcangelo.
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At Saratoga, Forte won the Grade 2 Jim Dandy by a nose over Saudi Crown. It was a somewhat controversial victory as Forte did appear to bother another horse, third-place finisher Angel of Empire, in upper stretch of that race.
Coming back in four weeks, Forte was not up to the task in the Travers, finishing fourth.
For now, Forte’s career record stands at 7-1-0 from 10 starts -- pending the outcome of the appeal of the Hopeful -- with earnings of $3,029,830.
“As much as it’s a thrill of a lifetime and a champion and you dream of horses like this that could be the Derby favorite, it doesn’t always turn out the way you want it, as evidenced by the scratch in the Derby,” Repole said.
In ranking Forte with some of the most accomplished colts he’s owned -- Uncle Mo, Stay Thirsty, and Vino Rosso -- Repole said Forte “might be the best on-the-racetrack horse I’ve ever owned and been part of.”
Repole, who co-owns the champion filly Nest with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, said no decision has been made on that filly’s future, though she is in catalogued in the Night of Stars sale at Fasig-Tipton on Nov. 7.
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