Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Forte
Forte
Violence – Queen Caroline, by Blame
Bred in Kentucky by South Gate Farm ($80,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase by Silver Hill Farm; $110,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Repole Stable and St. Elias)
Eclipse Award champion Forte, who debuts among the top choices on Daily Racing Form’s 2023 Derby Watch list, has a pedigree that combines speed with a globally prominent classic family.
His sire, Violence, is a well-bred son of Medaglia d’Oro from the family of champions Sky Beauty, Gold Beauty, and Dayjur, and numerous other major winners. Violence won his first three starts, including the Grade 2 Nashua and Grade 1 CashCall Futurity. He finished second by a half-length to Orb – the eventual Kentucky Derby winner – in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth before injury ended his career.
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
Violence is represented by 41 stakes winners from his first three crops of racing age. Before Forte’s emergence last year, he had been represented by three Grade 1 winners in the U.S., all sprinters – Dr. Schivel, No Parole, and Volatile. Forte’s initial Grade 1 victory came in the Hopeful at seven furlongs, but he successfully moved to two turns to add scores in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Violence is the sire of a handful of other graded stakes winners beyond a mile in Cosmic Burst, Newgrange, and Talk Veuve to Me.
Forte is the first foal for Queen Caroline, a multiple stakes winner at 1 1/16 miles on turf. This daughter of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and emerging broodmare sire Blame has both precocious speed and two-turn ability. Her dam, Queens Plaza, was a stakes-winning sprinter as a juvenile, and also produced Grade 3-placed juvenile sprinter Queen Teurta and Sunland Oaks runner-up K P Slickem.
This is the family of champion Folklore, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies around one turn at Belmont Park. Her family has been a classic influence in recent years. Folklore is the granddam of Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail, who won at up to 1 7/8 miles. Folklore is also a half-sister to Delightful Quality, dam of two-time Eclipse Award champion and Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.