It has been said about 2-year-old champ Fierceness that he can't put together two brilliant performances in a row.
That's said. The past tense of say.
Because on a picture-perfect day for racing at historic Saratoga Race Course, Fierceness finally put his consistently inconsistent ways behind him.
In an electrifying stretch battle with the sensational filly Thorpedo Anna, Fierceness held her off in the final strides to win the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) by a head Aug. 24 at the Spa.
Owned and bred by Mike Repole and trained by Todd Pletcher, the son of City of Light posted back-to-back wins for the first time in eight career starts and could not have picked a better time to prove his critics wrong than the huge Midsummer Derby showdown for 3-year-olds.
"This is the best 3-year-old in the country right now. I don't think anyone can deny it," Repole said. "He's pretty special and he's going to be pretty tough in the Breeders' Cup Classic."
The betting favorite in the Kentucky Derby (G1), when he followed up a 13 1/2-length win in the Florida Derby (G1) with a 15th-place finish, Fierceness came into the Travers off a length win in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) and people said this would be his "bounce" race.
So prevalent was that mindset that Fierceness, the 3-1 co-second choice in the morning line, was a written-off 7-1 while the horses were in the paddock.
"That was stupid," Repole said about the early odds, which dropped to 7-2 by post time as Fierceness paid $9.80. "I hear everything and see everything people say about Fierceness and that kind of talk is motivational."
While there was initially doubt after the July 27 Jim Dandy about running in the Travers on four weeks rest, Pletcher, who posted his 200th grade 1 win in the Midsummer Derby, said he could not find a reason to keep Fierceness in his stall and bypass the mile-and-a-quarter test.
"Honestly, I was amazed the day after the Jim Dandy. When he came out, he was full of himself," said Pletcher, who added Fierceness will train up to the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar. "And you know, everyone was asking me why he was running well every other time, and does he give you any signs or signals that he's not going to run well. The answer has always been no. He always trains exceptionally well. He doesn't give you negative signs, but he had never given me so many positive signs (as) leading into this race. The way he was eating, his energy level, the way he was galloping, his breezes were super. He did them easily. Everything was giving me confidence to run him back in four weeks."
Prior to that, what set in motion the two victories at the Spa was a decision to skip the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1) and give the homebred what turned out to be 12 weeks off before running in the Jim Dandy.
"I really think the key to the success in the Jim Dandy and Travers was skipping the Belmont," said Pletcher, now a three-time Travers winner. "For whatever reason, the Derby was really hard on him. We shipped him from Churchill to Saratoga a few days after and by the time I got up here, I hadn't seen him in five or six days and my first thought was, 'Man, this horse doesn't look like he did before the Derby.' He had lost weight. We worked him one time and he was not himself."
While Fierceness may have moved to the top of the 3-year-old male division with his win, the gallant effort by Thorpedo Anna only enhanced thoughts that she rates as the best 3-year-old filly in 2024 and one of the best in recent years.
For a few strides in deep stretch, it appeared that jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and the daughter of Fast Anna were going to catch Fierceness and John Velazquez, but the Repole runner's head crossed the wire first in 2:01.79.
"We just got nosed out. She ran a fantastic race. She galloped out in front, but they don't pay for that," trainer Ken McPeek said about the 3-1 second choice owned by Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks, and McPeek's Magdalena Racing. "She ran a winning race. I am very proud of her. She showed she belonged in the race."
McPeek said running Sept. 21 in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) at Parx Racing was a "no-brainer" and if all goes well, the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) would be next after that.
The early pace figured to be lively with Thorpedo Anna, Fierceness, and Belmont Stakes and Haskell Stakes (G1) winner Dornoch in the mix. Yet it was 29-1 shot Batten Down who set the early fractions of :23:53, :48.10, and 1:11.62 with Dornoch second and Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna vying for third.
Sierra Leone, the 8-5 favorite, was sixth in the field of eight, waiting to launch his usual late kick.
On the final turn, Batten Down and Dornoch, the 9-2 fourth choice, tired. Fierceness swept past them on the outside and led by a length at the quarter pole with Thorpedo Anna the only one making a menacing move.
Though Fierceness led by two lengths at the eighth pole, Thorpedo Anna made it exciting with a final charge that fell just short.
"He kind of waited at the eighth pole," Velazquez said after his third Travers win. "I had to get after him when the filly started coming. I went left-handed and he responded right away. I was very proud of him, because when it was time to fight, he put in a really good fight."
Thorpedo Anna, who saw her string of three straight grade 1 wins (starting with the Kentucky Oaks) snapped, was 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Sierra Leone, who lacked a strong enough late kick. The son of Gun Runner has now finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Jim Dandy and third in the Belmont and Travers for trainer Chad Brown and owners Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Rocket Ship Racing.
Dornoch was another 6 1/2 lengths back in fourth.
Fierceness is out of Nonna Bella, who is named for Repole's late grandmother and was sired by Stay Thirsty , his 2011 Travers winner.
"It's special. I won this race 13 years ago and I almost forget the first one," Repole said. "That's how special it is."
Fierceness is the third of six foals from Nonna Bella. The only other one to race is his 2-year-old full brother Mentee who won his June 15 debut at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Attendance was 47,844 and all-sources handle was a record $63,023,405. That was a 13.4% increase over the previous wagering high of $55.5 million in 2022.
