Forte, whose 155 winners here last year placed him fifth on the Mighty M leaderboard, was somewhat complacent as he was approaching his career milestone. When asked if he felt any pressure with just one more win to go Forte said : “Nope, no more than usual. It could happen today and probably will happen sometime but 3000 wins just means that I’ve been around a long time.”
However, when Forte approached the finish line with Triple The Money on Tuesday he waved his whip in victory and when he reached the winners circle he was excitedly happy and the previous complacent tune changed to one of delight.
“It feels good, it really does,” he said with a big broad smile. And after he gazed at the blanket that he and owner trainer Bob D’Agostino held which stated that he had won 3000 races, he added joyfully “Wow, it’s even in my colors. I’ll be putting this on my bed.”
Forte’s milestone victory was behind Robert D’Agostino’s 11 year old Threefold gelding. Dismissed by the betting public and sent off at odds of over 9-1 Triple The Money paid $20.80 for win.
However, after his 3000th win Forte added another victory to his totals when he guided Smarty Merit to a nose victory in a time of 1:58.3.
For the better part of the last decade Forte not only has been competing here on a regular basis but he has been among the leaders each and every season. Every year since 1999 Forte won 100 or more races and three of the seasons he topped 200 wins . His biggest output came during the 2008 campaign when he reined 285 winners.
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| Forte helps display the blanket that expresses his milestone victory with owner –trainer Bob D’Agostino(left) (Geri Schwarz Photo) |
