Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Forte (Violence) returned to the worktab at Palm Beach Downs Friday in preparation for a scheduled start in the $1-million GI Curlin Florida Derby Apr. 1 at Gulfstream Park.
The Todd Pletcher-trained 2022 Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male breezed for the first time since his tour-de-force 2023 debut in the GII Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 4 at Gulfstream Park. He breezed a half-mile in :50.72 under regular jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.
“I thought it was super. The horse is doing extremely well. He came out of the Fountain of Youth in great shape. He had a nice breeze this morning, just a half-mile. He finished up strongly with a good gallop-out,” Pletcher said. “He’s very happy and moving well.”
Pletcher added, “He came back with really good energy. His appetite has been super. He’s doing all the things the way you’d want him to be doing them. He’s coming out of a big race and leading up to another big one. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
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