Repole Stable's Fearless (Ghostzapper) ran to the money as the 3-5 chalk in Saturday's GIII Harlan's Holiday S., the local prep for the upcoming $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Jan. 29.
Drawn widest of all in post six, he tracked a pair of dueling leaders in a dream spot in third as they made their way up the backstretch. This term's GII WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile S. Feb. 27 winner revved up three wide rounding the far turn, kicked for home as the one to catch and took care of business from there to score by a facile four lengths over South Bend (Algorithms). The pacesetting dual Canadian Classic winner Mighty Heart (Dramedy) was third.
Trained throughout his career by Todd Pletcher, Mike Repole purchased Fearless, previously a $725,000 KEESEP yearling, for $205,000 at this summer's Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale following a second-place finish behind next out GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H. winner Silver State (Hard Spun) in the GII Oaklawn H. Apr. 17 and a third-place finish as the favorite in the GIII Pimlico Special Match Series S. May 14. He resurfaced with a second-place finish as the chalk once again in his first start for Repole in a local $60,000 handicap Nov. 21. Fearless previously carried the colors of CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm.
Will we see Fearless next in the Pegasus?
“That's all up to Todd,” Pletcher's assistant trainer Anthony Sciametta said. “The horse is moving forward. He's run two good races and come back good from his vacation. That's all we can ask for.”
Pletcher was not present at Gulfstream Saturday due to family obligations.
Pedigree Notes:
Fearless is one of 89 stakes/48 graded winners for Hall of Famer Ghostzapper. He is also one of 102 stakes/53 graded winners for the late Street Cry as a broodmare sire.
Fearless's dam And Why Not, who hit the board over seven furlongs as a juvenile in the 2011 GI Spinaway S. and over 10 panels in the 2013 GI Delaware H., hails from one of the deepest families in the stud book.
Second dam is GSP Alchemist, in turn the dam of GSW Far From Over (Blame), and GISW third dam Aldiza produced one graded winner and the dams of two others. Fearless's fifth dam is none other than 1983 Broodmare of the Year Courtly Dee (Never Bend).
And Why Not has an unraced 2-year-old filly named Marzipan (Candy Ride {Arg}) and a yearling filly by Blame ($500,000 KEESEP purchase by Juddmonte). She was bred to Gun Runner for 2022.
Saturday, Gulfstream
HARLAN'S HOLIDAY S.-GIII, $150,000, Gulfstream, 12-18, 3yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:42.19, ft.
1–FEARLESS, 123, g, 5, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: And Why Not (MGISP, $262,965), by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Alchemist, by A.P. Indy
3rd Dam: Aldiza, by Storm Cat
($725,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP; $120,000 RNA 4yo '20 FTKHRA;
$205,000 5yo '21 FTKHRA). O-Repole Stable; B-Helen K.
Groves Revocable Trust (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Luis Saez.
$92,070. Lifetime Record: 11-5-3-1, $576,550. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
*1/2 to Just Whistle (Pioneerof the Nile), SW & MGSP,
$260,865.
2–South Bend, 121, c, 4, Algorithms–Sandra's Rose, by Old
Trieste. ($47,000 RNA Ylg '18 FTKJUL; $70,000 2yo '19
OBSMAR). O-Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Peter Deutsch,
& Pantofel Stable, LLC; B-Highclere Inc. (KY); T-William I.
Mott. $29,700.
3–Mighty Heart, 126, c, 4, Dramedy–Emma's Bullseye, by
City Place. O/B-Lawrence Cordes (ON); T-Josie Carroll.
$14,850.
Margins: 4, 1 1/4, 7 1/4. Odds: 0.60, 6.20, 2.30.
Also Ran: Blue Steel, Twenty Twice, Eye of a Jedi.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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