Hopeful winner Forte running back in Champagne

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Forte, three-length winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 5 at Saratoga, will run in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes going a mile at Aqueduct.
Trainer Todd Pletcher also was considering training him up to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4.
Forte worked a half-mile in 47.87 seconds last Friday at Saratoga.
“He worked really well,” Pletcher said. “Seems like he has good energy, seems happy.”
Pletcher has won a record six Champagnes, all from 2004-2014. Shanghai Bobby, in 2012, is the only one of the six to win both the Hopeful and Champagne.
The Champagne, which offers a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, is expected to attract six horses, including Andiamo a Firenze, Blazing Sevens, Champions Dream, Gulfport, and Verifying.
Other stakes on Saturday include the Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo, a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint.
The Miss Grillo is expected to attract Be Your Best, Essaouira, Free Look, Georgees Spirit, Im Just Kiddin, Lady Jasmine, and Pleasant Passage.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.
The Belmont Turf Sprint, run at six furlongs, is expected to attract Arzak, Cazadero, Dancing Buck, Noble Emotion, Scuttlebuzz, Thin White Duke, Voodoo Zip, and Yes and Yes.

