Forte Dei Marmi back with a bang in Singspiel

Stella Perdomo's Forte Dei Marmi put his uncharacteristically poor spring

behind him with an authoritative display in Sunday's Grade 3, $150,430

Singspiel Stakes at Woodbine. The 6-5 favorite galloped home by a record 6

1/4-length margin over stablemate and 7-2 second choice Perfect Timber, the pair

continuing dual Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield's stranglehold on the turf

marathon.

Attfield has now won five straight renewals of the Singspiel, and six of the

last seven. This also marked the second consecutive year that he has sent out

the exacta, with Musketier outdueling Simmard here in 2012.

Forte Dei Marmi performed at a high level at Woodbine last season, winning

the Sky Classic and finishing third in both the Northern Dancer Turf and

Canadian International. The gelded son of Selkirk lost his way thereafter.

Last of eight in the November 24 W.L. McKnight Handicap at Calder, Forte Dei

Marmi made an inauspicious seven-year-old debut when trailing again in an April

6 Keeneland allowance. He was pulled up early in the April 26 Elkhorn and vanned

off the course, but came right back for the May 18 Dixie at Pimlico and closed

mildly in ninth. His recent bullet works at Woodbine suggested that he was on

the verge of a turnaround, and bettors took the hint.

Ridden for the first time by the red-hot Joel Rosario, Forte Dei Marmi was

nestled in midpack through a series of lead changes, as the race unfolded in a

driving rainstorm. The filly Ardara showed the way in the initial strides before

deferring to Fifty Proof through fractions of :26 and :51 4/5 on a course that

had been downgraded to yielding.

Serious Indeed moved up to take over down the backstretch and posted splits

of 1:18 1/5 and 1:45 3/5. By the time Serious Indeed clocked 2:14 2/5 for 1 1/4

miles, though, Forte Dei Marmi had stealthily crept alongside.

The favorite bounded away in short order and completed 1 1/2 miles in 2:41

4/5. In addition to rewarding his loyalists with $4.70, $3.30 and $2.70, he

improved his record to 30-8-1-5, $736,499.

The four-year-old Perfect Timber, making his stakes debut in just his fourth

career start, was easily best of the rest by 3 3/4 lengths. Patrioticandproud

reported home third, and Serious Indeed, Aldous Snow, Attendant, Heathcote,

Fifty Proof and a tailed-off Ardara rounded out the order of finish. Pool Play

was withdrawn.

Forte Dei Marmi was originally based in England with Luca Cumani. A

handicapper for much of his early career, he was upped in grade in 2011, with

his best result a third to Await the Dawn in the Huxley at Chester. Forte Dei

Marmi joined Attfield for a tilt at that year's Woodbine Mile, winding up 10th

in his only unplaced effort over the E.P. Taylor turf. His resume also features

a flying third in the 2012 Dixie.

Bred by Fittocks Stud in Great Britain, Forte Dei Marmi failed to reach his

reserve when bringing $81,196 as a Tattersalls October yearling. His dam, the

winning Sadler's Wells mare Frangy, is responsible for two other stakes scorers

-- Savarain and Wallis.

Forte Dei Marmi descends from multiple Group 2 star Free Guest, making him a

relative of Group 1 heroine Shamshir, Irish and Italian highweight staying mare

Royal Ballerina and multiple stakes winners Nashmiah and Al Mohaajir.

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