LOUISVILLE, Ky. - From the time Forte left the Keeneland winner’s circle following his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November, everything has gone according to plan for the horse who will most likely be the favorite for next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. It's kind of scary, when trainer Todd Pletcher thinks about it. “I don’t even want to say that a week out,” Pletcher said. “Literally from the time he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile we laid out a schedule and a plan and - including today when we were looking at the forecast about what kind of track we were going to have - we’ve literally never had to adjust anything that we mapped out for him.” Pletcher spoke Saturday morning after Forte worked a half-mile in 50.09 seconds, per Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch. He got his first quarter in 25.33 seconds and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.50. Forte was one of four potential Kentucky Derby starters Pletcher sent out for works on a busy Saturday morning that saw 12 prospective Derby horses breeze here in Louisville on an overcast, albeit dry morning. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Forte’s final time won’t grab headlines, per se, but it was a move that Pletcher has gotten used to seeing from the four-time Grade 1 winner. Forte worked in company with Bright Future, a 4-year-old who came off a lengthy layoff with a sharp allowance win at Gulfstream earlier this month. “I know it wasn’t flashy in terms of the speed or final time, but he got in a really good rhythm … and he was moving great, getting over the ground really well, galloped out all the way around to the kitchen, very much within himself,” Pletcher said, referring to the track kitchen near the entry to the far turn. Pletcher said he told jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard for the work, "not to overdo it, get a good work, save something. So, I think he was able to do it.” Pletcher’s other Derby horses also got in their final moves Saturday morning. Tapit Trice, the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes winner, and Kingsbarns, the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner, were a bit flashier on the watch than Forte on Saturday morning. Tapit Trice, working outside 3-year-old maiden winner Equivoque, went a half-mile in 48.58 seconds, with a final quarter of 23.88 seconds according to Welsch, who caught him galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.2 and six in 1:13.81. Pletcher said Tapit Trice clicked off 12-second furlongs “pretty steadily. I thought he looked great.” Kingsbarns worked a half-mile in company with Major Dude in 48.42 seconds, a final quarter of 23.21 per Welsch. They galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.42 and might have done more had Pletcher, via two-way radio, not communicated with jockey Jose Ortiz on Kingsbarns to shut it down. “Kingsbarns and Major Dude both worked really well and started to put in some strong gallop outs; I pulled them up after the three-quarter mark on the radio and told them let’s wrap it up there,” Pletcher said. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Ortiz is expected to have the mount on Kingsbarns. Major Dude would need two defections to get into the Derby field between now and Monday morning when entries are taken. Pletcher said that if Major Dude wasn’t assured a spot in the Derby, he would more likely be entered in the Grade 2, $500,000 American Turf on the same card. Brad Cox worked all four of his Derby contenders on Saturday. Early in the morning, Withers Stakes winner Hit Show went five furlongs in 59.91 seconds outside of non-Derby horse Tapit’s Conquest with a solid gallop out of 1:13.15 and 1:27.98. “It was a good move, asked him to pick it up on the radio at the eighth pole and he was able to scoot away just a little bit,” Cox said of Hit Show. “Steady gallop out. He’s a good workhorse.” Verifying went five furlongs in company with the maiden Everso Mischievous, galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.83. Angel of Empire, the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner, worked outside of Louisiana Derby third-place finisher Jace’s Road, with Angel of Empire starting a length back and going five furlongs in 1:01.31. Jace’s Road was given a time of 1:01.51 by Welsch. “Pretty steady work horses - you can get what you want [from them],” Cox said. “Angel of Empire does often act like he does need some company to keep him going. I thought he was really, really good this morning, big gallop out, a steady horse that should love a mile and a quarter.” Confidence Game, trained by Keith Desormeaux, will go into the Derby having not run since upsetting the Grade 2 Rebel in February. Saturday, he worked five furlongs in 59.50 seconds, after going a quick three furlongs in 34.58 seconds under James Graham. “Nice, fluid, in hand, big reach, he’s very limber,” Desormeaux said. “A little fast but he did it in hand.” Mage, a Florida Derby runner-up, was credited with a six-furlong work in 1:16.80. Cyclone Mischief, who needs one defection to get into the Derby field, worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 while King Russell, who would need four defections to crack the field, worked a half-mile in 47.80 seconds. Practical Move, the Santa Anita Derby winner, and his Tim Yakteen-trained stablemate Reincarnate were due to arrive at Churchill Downs on Saturday afternoon. Skinner, who worked six furlongs in 1:14.00 at Santa Anita on Saturday, was expected to ship in on Sunday. - additional reporting by Nicole Russo   :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.