While Fierceness continues to make his presence felt in the older male division, his younger half sibling Nonna's Love started making some waves of her own, graduating with a scintillating score over the Aqueduct Racetrack turf June 12.
Like Fierceness, the 2023 champion juvenile male, as well as her grade 3-winning half brother Mentee, Nonna's Love has proven to be yet another precocious 2-year-old produced from Repole Stable's fruitful mare Nonna Bella. Nonna's Love is the third winner from three foals to race out of the daughter of Stay Thirsty, herself a half sibling to the Repole's homebred grade 1 winner Outwork. Fierceness and Mentee are full siblings by City of Light , while Nonna's Love is sired by European grade 1 winner and stallion Caravaggio.
Third in her debut sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs on the dirt during the Keeneland spring meet for trainer Todd Pletcher, Nonna's Love switched to the turf in her New York debut, a surface Mentee excelled over last fall when capturing the Futurity Stakes (G3T). The Repole homebred kept it all in the family with her win in Thursday's maiden contest under the hands of jockey John Velazquez, the regular rider of both Fierceness and Mentee.
Nonna's Love had to earn her photo, however, and dueled through quick early fractions with Chrysalism before putting that rival away midstretch. The 6-5 favorite streaked under the wire a convincing three-length winner in an excellent final time of 1:08.34 for six furlongs over a firm turf course.
It's likely Nonna's Love could join her older siblings at Pletcher's Saratoga Race Course barn this summer with a chance to become her dam's third black-type winner in upcoming 2-year-old stakes. Although Mentee has yet to start this year, Fierceness has raced twice in 2025, establishing a track record when taking the Alysheba Stakes (G2) on Derby Day before finishing second to Raging Torrent in the June 7 Metropolitan Handicap (G1).
Nonna Bella currently has a yearling colt by Repole's late, great stallion Uncle Mo and foaled a filly by Curlin this past spring.
