SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Forte and Angel of Empire emerged from their bumping battle in Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes unscathed and both are likely to be part of a good-sized field expected for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 26. Forte won Saturday’s Jim Dandy by a nose over pacesetting Saudi Crown, but had to withstand a stewards inquiry into the stretch run when he came out for running room and exchanged bumps with Angel of Empire, who ultimately finished third, beaten a half-length. It was debatable whether there should have been a disqualification, but in the end the stewards decided there was not enough to warrant a change in the order of finish. The Jim Dandy came back a solid race on the Beyer Speed Figure scale with Forte and Saudi Crown each earning a 105 Beyer Speed Figure _ a career best for Forte. Angel of Empire equaled his career-best 104. Forte, the 2-year-old champion male of 2022, was making just his second start in nearly four months in the Jim Dandy. Equipped with blinkers for the first time, Forte didn’t drop back on the far turn in the race as he had previously done in the Florida Derby and Belmont Stakes. He won the Florida Derby, beating Mage. He finished second behind Arcangelo in the Belmont. :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  “I thought he broke more alertly than he had been, put himself in the spot we thought we were going to be in,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I think he maintained his focus on the far turn, which I didn’t think he did in the Florida Derby and the Belmont. I think it was a career-best Beyer Speed Figure, so he made a move forward that way. He showed a lot of courage, kept fighting.” Forte went 10 weeks between the Florida Derby and Belmont. He had seven weeks between the Belmont and Jim Dandy. When he runs in the Travers, Forte will be coming back in four weeks. Forte has twice won under that scenario, taking the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile four weeks after winning the Breeders’ Futurity. He won the Florida Derby four weeks after winning the Fountain of Youth. “I think he’s a bigger, stronger horse right now than he was at that time,” Pletcher said. “That’s something I’ve been really pleased with, his physical development through the process.  I wasn’t sure at this time last year if he was going to be the kind that would be able to fill out through a campaign. He’s actually thrived on it and put on weight and gotten stronger, so physically he’s developed well.” Pletcher said that Tapit Trice, the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes winner who finished fifth in the Haskell, is being pointed to the Travers. Trainer Brad Cox sent out both Saudi Crown and Angel of Empire as well as last-place finisher Hit Show. Cox said after the race he didn’t feel a disqualification of Forte was warranted but on Sunday wondered about letting a rider get away with too much. “I think the best horse crossed the wire first, the way he was running and the way he was cruising at the quarter pole before any of that happened,” Cox said. “But if you’re allowed to do that from a rider’s standpoint … I don’t know.” Cox said both Saudi Crown and Angel of Empire came out of the race fine. Cox said Saudi Crown would most likely be pointed to the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 23 to give the horse more time between starts. In the Jim Dandy, he ran back four weeks after running a game second in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont. Cox said Angel of Empire will be pointed to the Travers. “I think he can handle the mile and a quarter, I thought he ran really well yesterday,” Cox said. “I felt like he was doing as well as he had ever done. I’m glad he showed up and ran as well as I thought he would.” Cox said Hit Show would likely take a step back in company and look for a “regional Derby where he could be one of the choices,” Cox said. Disarm, fourth in the Jim Dandy, will be considered for the Travers as well, said David Fiske, racing manager for Ron Winchell. The Travers, for the first time since 2017, is expected to attract all three winners of this year’s Triple Crown races. Mage, the Kentucky Derby winner, arrived in town on July 24 and will likely have his first work this upcoming weekend. National Treasure, the Preakness winner, and Arcangelo, the Belmont Stakes winner, are also on target for the Travers. National Treasure is trained by Bob Baffert, who is also scheduled to ship Reincarnate, the Los Alamitos Derby winner, here for the Travers. Skinner, second in the Los Alamitos Derby after being scratched from the Kentucky Derby, Scotland and Il Miracolo, the one-two finishers from the Curlin Stakes, are also pointing to the race. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.