Fierceness Undergoes Minor Surgery; Should Still Be on Track for a Spring Campaign

Since finishing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) has undergone what owner Mike Repole described as minor elective surgery on a hind ankle. The news was broken by Dave Grening in the Daily Racing Form on Sunday and reiterated Tuesday by trainer Todd Pletcher at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's Global Symposium on Racing, at which Pletcher was a featured speaker.

“We had two vets look at him and one guy said you'll just turn him out for 60 days and there'll be no issue,” Repole said. “The other guy said maybe we should get it fixed now. I didn't even know if it was the right front or left front and then I find out it is in a hind leg. That's how minor it was. We didn't have to do the surgery. It was elective.

“The surgery was on a Wednesday,” Repole said. “(Senior Advisor, Repole Stables) Ed Rosen asked me on Friday how the surgery went for Fierceness? My reply was I didn't even check in with Todd. Let me check in on him. That's how serious it was. He was under for a full 15 minutes. It was done by Dr. (Larry) Bramlage and Dr. (Wesley) Sutter. I let Todd make the decision on whether he should have the surgery.”

Repole said that in no way will the surgery impact what should be a challenging schedule in 2025 for his homebred.

“He's coming back 1000%,” he said. “He's 100% fine. I have to win three races next year, the Met Mile, the Whitney and the Breeders' Cup Classic. He'll have races in between, but those are the three races I have to win.”