SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – As he schooled in the Saratoga paddock late Thursday morning, Forte, looking like a well-chiseled Thoroughbred, was getting a little antsy as the saddle was being placed on his back. “He knows what’s going on now,” said Forte’s trainer, Todd Pletcher. “You can tell he’s sharp and feeling good. He can be a pretty docile, quiet horse around the barn and every once in a while he’ll let you know ‘I’m here.’ Like now.” And, Pletcher hopes that will be the case Saturday, when Forte heads a field of five 3-year-olds entered in the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy, the local prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes here Aug. 26. The Jim Dandy shares billing Saturday with the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap for male sprinters on a 12-race card that begins at 12:40 p.m. Forte, last year’s champion 2-year-old male, kicked off his 3-year-old season with victories in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream Park. The morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby, Forte developed a bruised foot that week that ultimately led to him being scratched the morning of the race. The scratch put him on the veterinarian’s list and made him ineligible to run two weeks later in the Preakness. :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  Forte ran in the Belmont Stakes off a 10-week layoff and, despite dropping back on the far turn, came on again to finish second, 1 1/2 lengths behind the rail-rallying winner, Arcangelo. Forte overcame a similar scenario in the Florida Derby to run down Mage and win by one length. Mage subsequently won the Kentucky Derby. That he ran somewhat spotty in his two most recent starts has prompted Pletcher to equip Forte with blinkers Saturday. “Just keep him focused, especially on the far turn,” Pletcher said when asked about the desired impact of the blinkers. “That’s where we felt like he put himself in a little bit of a tough spot in the Florida Derby and kind of let the Belmont get away from him there; little loss of focus.” Forte is not one to wow observers with his morning training, But Thursday, as he schooled, Forte looked sensational. “I think physically he’s as good as he’s ever been,” Pletcher said. Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Forte from post 2. When Forte came out of the Derby, Angel of Empire inherited the favorite’s role. He finished a late-rallying third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Mage. Trainer Brad Cox added blinkers to Angel of Empire’s equipment for the Belmont Stakes, where he finished in a dead heat for fourth with stablemate Hit Show, who also is entered in the Jim Dandy. In the Jim Dandy, Angel of Empire is cutting back to 1 1/8 miles, the distance of his victories earlier this year in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and Grade 2 Risen Star. Angel of Empire, who will break from post 5 under Flavien Prat, seems to do his best when there is pace in front of him. Hit Show won the Grade 3 Withers at 1 1/8 miles before running second, beaten a nose by longshot Lord Miles, in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial. Thus, the cutback to 1 1/8 miles in the Jim Dandy should be good for both horses. On Wednesday, Cox entered Saudi Crown, a speedy sort who won his first two starts before setting the pace in the Grade 3 Dwyer and just getting nailed on the wire by Fort Bragg. Cox said owner Faisal Mohammed Alqahtani reached out to him about the possibility of running Saudi Crown in the Jim Dandy. Though it’s four weeks back from his effort in the Dwyer, Cox was amenable to doing it after watching him breeze last weekend.  “The horse is about as good as I think he can be,” Cox said. “He breezed fantastic last week, he’s put on weight since he shipped up from Belmont. I think he’s one of the better 3-year-olds in the country, I really do believe that, and I think he can get the mile and an eighth as long as he’s not super aggressive early.” Saudi Crown’s 106 Beyer Speed Figure in that performance is higher than anyone in this field – including Forte. In 2022, Steve Asmussen sent out Epicenter to win the Jim Dandy and Travers, results that helped him win the 3-year-old championship. Saturday, Asmussen sends out Disarm, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby before winning the Grade 3 Matt Winn at Ellis Park. The Derby was Disarm’s third race in five weeks after having run second in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and third in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. “He ran respectable in the Derby, but we’re going to need better in the Jim Dandy,” Asmussen said. Asmussen said the change of venue from Churchill Downs to Ellis Park for the Matt Winn forced Disarm “to use a little more pace in that race and that might come in handy in the Jim Dandy,” he said. Asmussen said that Disarm, a son of Gun Runner, has improved with racing. “He’s always been an extremely playful horse in that regard, but for him to have done the racing that he did in the Louisiana Derby, Lexington, Kentucky Derby, he came out of it excellent physically and if anything a little better focused,” Asmussen said. Joel Rosario rides Disarm from the rail. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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