Since his runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Repole Stable's Fierceness has undergone hind ankle surgery, trainer Todd Pletcher told the audience during a multiple-topic discussion at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 10.
Seated alongside fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert during a panel discussion involving the trainers, Pletcher told Amy Zimmerman, senior vice president and executive producer at Santa Anita Park, that Fierceness is "doing great." He noted that "a little thing" was discovered during post-Breeders' Cup physical as owner Mike Repole weighed the colt's future and whether to race him next year at age 4, as he now intends, before Fierceness eventually joins the stallion lineup at Ashford Stud.
Pletcher said some veterinarians recommended surgery with 45 days off, and others felt the issue would resolve without surgery in 60 days. They opted for the surgery for the 3-year-old City of Light colt.
"We just felt like the thing to do was to speed it up and make sure, hopefully, that doesn't bother him again," he said.
Fierceness' recovery likely means the colt could resume racing in the spring.
Likely to be a finalist for champion 3-year-old male, Fierceness won twice at the top level in 2024, winning the Florida Derby (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1). Sierra Leone defeated him by a length and a half in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.
