By Tim Wilkin
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.-When it became perfectly clear that the finish of Saturday's $1.25-million, GI DraftKings Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course was going to be desperately close, trainer Todd Pletcher went to work.
Sitting up in his clubhouse box, the normally composed Pletcher rose to his feet and screamed and yelled for his 3-year-old colt Fierceness (City of Light) to get the job done in the Midsummer Derby.
“I knew it was getting close,” the Hall of Fame trainer said outside his office at his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track Sunday morning. “I had to help [jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] out a little bit in the last 100 yards.”
Pletcher showed the proof when he opened a photo on his phone that showed him up on his toes, imploring Fierceness to get all the way home.
“Someone sent me this this morning,” Pletcher said.
When asked if he was yelling, he didn't take the fifth.
“A little bit,” he said. “It was exciting.”
Fierceness won the Travers by a head over the filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) and made his claim as the best 3-year-old colt in the country. His resume now boasts three wins in five starts with the GI Curlin Florida Derby, Travers and GII Jim Dandy his victories.
“Johnny said when he made the lead, he idled a little bit,” Pletcher said. “But when he felt the filly coming, he re-engaged and felt like he fought back. He ran hard. That was a tough race.”
Pletcher spent the night celebrating with owner Mike Repole's crew at Saratoga Prime, a local high-end restaurant. Pletcher said he left at 11:30 p.m.–a very late night for him–and said Repole didn't show up until 10:30.
The Travers was also the first time in his career that Fierceness won two consecutive races. The knock on him heading into the Midsummer Derby was that he could not string two good races in a row.
“You can officially say he can win back-to-back races,” Pletcher said. “That appears to be in the books.”
Fierceness will remain in Saratoga, probably through the end of September, Pletcher said. Last year, he trained at Keeneland before going out to Santa Anita where he won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He said he will consider doing that again.
Regardless, Fierceness will head to California again where he will make his next start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for owner Mike Repole.
Before starting the Sunday program at Saratoga, the new Travers Canoe, which is painted every year in the colors of the winning owner, was given its maiden voyage in the infield pond adorned in Repole's blue and orange colors.
The skipper in the canoe was none other than Pletcher.
He admitted that he had to do a doubletake on Saturday when he walked into the paddock to saddle Fierceness.
“He was 6-1 when we showed up in the paddock and that surprised me,” Pletcher said. “I thought I was reading the board wrong. I think everyone was caught up in the every-other-race thing.”
By the time they got to the starting gate, Fierceness was the 7-2 third choice.
McPeek Still Gushing Over The Effort He Got From Thorpedo Anna
Of course, trainer Kenny McPeek wanted his 3-year-old filly to be on the other side of the result of Saturday's 155th running of the Travers Stakes.
But it was not to be. Thorpedo Anna, bidding to become the first filly since 1915 to win the Midsummer Derby, lost by a head to Fierceness.
Early Sunday morning, Thorpedo Anna was out of her stall and was walked, washed and got some quality time grazing. Several of her fans made their way over to snap pictures of the filly, who looked bright and steady the day after tasting defeat for just the second time in her eight-race career.
“Really proud of her effort,” McPeek said by phone Sunday morning from home, where he said he still had a house full of guests. “It was hard not to be. She ran a winning race; there was just one horse she couldn't get to.”
After having a night to digest the gut-wrenching loss, McPeek said there wasn't much that could have been done to reverse the decision. Maybe in the middle of the race if jockey Brian Hernandez and Thorpedo Anna could have found her way inside of early pacesetter Batten Down (Tapit) it could have been a different result.
Then they would not have had to go wide into the stretch.
But there was no use trying to be a Monday morning quarterback on Sunday.
“There's a couple of woulda-coulda-shouldas,” McPeek said. “But there are no do-overs. The fact that she had to go around like she did compromised her chances. Fierceness had a wide trip the whole race, so he probably covered more ground than us, so he may very well have been the better horse. Regardless, he ran fantastic.”
McPeek is adamant that Thorpedo Anna will stay with the fillies the rest of the way. The path to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff will have one pitstop, that being in the GI Cotillion at Parx on Sept. 21.
Thorpedo Anna will stay in Saratoga to do all her training for the Cotillion and then the Breeders' Cup.
McPeek had no doubts about running Thorpedo Anna against the boys. And she backed up his confidence with a solid showing.
“I have always been one to try and help promote the sport,” he said. “I thought it was a great chance to show her off and show how good she is. I hope people enjoyed it; that is what racing is all about. I have never been fearful of doing it. We went into it trying to win and we thought we could win.”
Dornoch Will Take Aim For a Rebound in Breeders' Cup Classic
Trainer Danny Gargan admitted Sunday morning that he was more than a little nervous going into Saturday's Travers Stakes.
That feeling was real as Dornoch (Good Magic), the GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes winner, could not pull off the Grade I repeat. He finished fourth.
“He didn't run bad, he was just a little flat,” Gargan said at his barn on the Saratoga backstretch Sunday morning. “He didn't have his usual kick. After his last work, I was a little nervous; he just didn't look as good as he normally does. Yesterday, it was their [Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna] day. We got outrun. You can't win every time, boys.”
Dornoch will remain in Saratoga and train up to the $7-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. After that, he could run in the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup in what would be his final race.
“He's worth too much money,” Gargan said about the possibility of running a full 4-year-old season. “He is the best bred 3-year-old in the country, a multiple Grade I winner and he's beautiful. He will stand for $40,000 or $50,000 at Spendthrift. We have been blessed that we got to do this ride and blessed that Spendthrift bought him.”
Gargan said that the 3-year-old colt championship is a “gridlock” right now. Fierceness, the Travers winner, and Dornoch are the horses wrestling for the title, according to Gargan.
And it will come down to the Breeders' Cup Classic.
“We won the Haskell and the Belmont, he has the Florida Derby and the Travers,” Gargan said. “It's whoever beats who in the Classic. If I beat him, I'll get it. If he beats me, he gets it. I think the 3-year-old division is awesome.”
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