ELMONT, N.Y. – Forte and Tapit Trice, noses apart when second and third, respectively, behind Arcangelo in the Belmont Stakes on June 10, both were on the work tab Friday at Belmont Park as they prepare for the second half of their 3-year-old seasons. Forte, the Grade 1 Florida Derby winner who had an interrupted spring due to a bruised foot that knocked him out of the Kentucky Derby, worked a half-mile in 50.47 seconds in company with the 3-year-old turf stakes winner Major Dude. The pair went their first quarter in 25.87 seconds and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.30. It was Forte’s first work since the Belmont. “Just looking for a good, easy work back,. I think we accomplished that,. He was moving well,” said Byron Hughes, the Belmont Park-based assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher. Tapit Trice, the Grade 1 Blue Grass winner who finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby, worked a sharp half-mile in 47.59 seconds by himself over the Belmont training track. Tapit Trice galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.05, six furlongs in 1:12.69. “Pretty sharp today,” Hughes said. “You can tell he came out of the Belmont in really good shape.” :: Get Belmont Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. On Thursday, Pletcher said he has still not decided where Tapit Trice and Forte would make their next starts. The logical spots are the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell on July 22 at Monmouth Park and the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy on July 29 at Saratoga. Both would be used as stepping-stones to the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 26. Pletcher said that both Tapit Trice and Forte would have one more work at Belmont Park before heading to Saratoga. Also at Belmont on Friday, Nest, the reigning 3-year-old filly champion who has not yet started this year, worked five furlongs in 1:01.31 in company with the 5-year-old stakes-winning male Too Boss. Nest, with Irad Ortiz Jr. up, got her final quarter in 24.06 seconds and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.35 and seven furlongs in 1:26.42. Nest is targeting the Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee on July 23. “She’s getting fitter and fitter. She’s responding well to the breezes; each breeze you can tell she’s a little sharper,” Hughes said. “Definitely happy with where she is.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.