Bad Hoof Luck Continues For Team Forte; Classic Still In Play

[Wandering Eyes]

'TDN Rising Star' and MGISW Forte (Violence), off since his disappointing fourth-place finish in the GI Travers S. Aug. 26, is receiving treatment for a quarter crack. His connections, including trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole, still believe there is time to prepare him for a start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Nov. 4.

Per the Daily Racing Form, farrier Ian McKinlay patched the quarter crack on Forte's left front foot and the horse has been training at Churchill Downs, where he galloped Sunday morning.

“Just trying to get everything right before we start breezing,” Pletcher said Sunday. “I think we're still in position to get a couple of good breezes into him, but we got to get this in proper shape before we start doing that.”

Forte was shipped from Pletcher's Saratoga barn to Churchill to get evaluated and “everything checked out,” Pletcher said.

In order to feel comfortable about running him in the Breeders' Cup, Pletcher said he would like to get three breezes into Forte before the race. That would likely mean getting him back to the worktab by Oct. 14.

“We need things to go smoothly from now on but I think we still have time to get there the right way,” Pletcher said.

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