Fierceness Shatters Track Record in Alysheba Stakes

Dejection turned to elation in a period of about five hours May 2 for owner Mike Repole. Following the news of his Kentucky Derby (G1) entrant Grande being scratched from the May 3 classic just before 9 a.m. ET, Repole was in the winner's circle at Churchill Downs for another valued race in early afternoon, celebrating a track record-setting performance in the $750,000 Alysheba Stakes (G2) from Fierceness. He co-owns the City of Light 4-year-old with Coolmore-affiliated partners. Fierceness ran in the Alysheba like the champion he was two years ago as a juvenile, defeating a short cast that included fellow graded stakes winners Most Wanted, Hall of Fame, and Locked. Fierceness further showed a professionalism that was at times missing during his 2-year-old season and the first half of his 3-year-old campaign, when he would alternate top performances with lackluster ones, typically after slow starts and becoming overly aggressive. In his first start since a runner-up finish in the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar, Fierceness broke poorly Friday, as well, allowing Most Wanted an easy lead in the 1 1/16-mile Alysheba. Fierceness settled two lengths off the lead under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez behind fractions of :24.39 and :48.31 before kicking into gear with a wide bid on the second turn. He pulled within a half-length of Most Wanted after six furlongs in 1:11.11 and outsprinted him over the final five-sixteenths to inch away by 1 1/2 lengths over the runner-up at the finish. "When I put him in the clear on the backstretch, he just really got into the bit and kept taking off," Velazquez said. Fierceness hit the wire in 1:40.66, lowering Successful Dan's track mark of 1:41.04 set in the 2012 Alysheba Stakes. He paid $3.88 to win as the favorite. "He's a nice horse, and he showed it today. But, wow, a track record at Churchill Downs. That's a really big deal," trainer Todd Pletcher said. For a horse with numerous highlights—Fierceness was the champion 2-year-old male in 2023 and runner-up in voting for championship 3-year-old male honors last year—Friday's performance seemed comparable to some of his best efforts from last year. He went 3-for-6 in 2024, taking the Florida Derby (G1) by 13 1/2 lengths, the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) by a length over Sierra Leone, and the Travers Stakes (G1) by a head over eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. "We know what he did in the Breeders' Cup Classic," Repole said of Fierceness, who pushed a demanding pace before being overhauled by late-running Sierra Leone, "and to come back after six months and do that, it's pretty special." Fierceness, a 4-year-old colt bred by Repole out of the Stay Thirsty mare Nonna Bella, improved his record to 6-1-1 in 10 starts and earnings to $4,315,320. He is one of two graded stakes winners for his dam, the other being Fierceness' full brother Mentee, winner of the 2024 Futurity Stakes (G1T). Fierceness now races for Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, and Susan Magnier. He is to join the stallion lineup at Coolmore's Ashford Stud at the end of his racing career. The Alysheba marked the third time Pletcher and Velazquez had teamed to win the Alysheba. Previous victories for the two came with Protonico in 2015 and Limehouse in 2005. Velazquez's other victory came in 2004 with the Shug McGaughey-trained Congrats. Hall of Fame ran an even third, 2 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up. Locked was fourth, another 2 1/2 lengths back and was followed across the wire by This is Uscar and Katonah. Fellow Pletcher trainee Locked, the Alysheba's 7-5 second favorite, never got on track as he did in winning the 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap (G1) in his preceding start. His jockey, Jose Ortiz, said the pace of the race and quick finish to the Alysheba made it difficult for late-running Locked to make up ground. Repole saw it another way. "Locked is a great horse," Repole said. "Who's the best horse in the older division? It's Fierceness." The June 7 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course may determine if Repole is right. Pletcher and Repole suggested Fierceness would be pointed to that prestigious $1 million contest, known as the Met Mile, a race also likely to lure White Abarrio, who had soundly defeated slow-starting Locked in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) in January at Gulfstream Park. Fierceness is the second graded stakes winner this year for City of Light, who stands for $35,000 at Lane's End in Kentucky.