Fierceness

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.--While it wasn't the scenario he expected at the beginning of the month, trainer John Ortiz will be busy late Saturday afternoon saddling the fillies Brightwork (Outwork) and 'TDN Rising Star' Quietside (Malibu Moon) in consecutive stakes at Saratoga Race Course. First up will be WSS Racing's Brightwork in the GIII $200,000 Prioress Stakes, scheduled for 5:04 p.m. ET. Immediately after the six-furlong Prioress, Ortiz will scoot back to the paddock to prepare Shortleaf Stable's Quietside in the $300,000 GI Spinaway Stakes, which Brightwork won last year. When...

The public may have given up on Fierceness (City of Light) before the GI DraftKings Travers S., sending last year's 2-year-old champion off at 7-2. It was all about his inability to string together two good races. But owner Mike Repole remained confident and that confidence was rewarded in the Travers in a victory that put his homebred squarely in the mix for Horse of the Year. To talk about Fierceness, and also his desire to make changes in the sport through his National Thoroughbred Alliance, Repole joined this week's...

Mike Repole celebrates his GI Travers winner Fierceness and shares updates on the National Thoroughbred Alliance on this week's TDN Writers' Room.

However obvious it may now appear that the "real" Fierceness didn't show up for the GIII Holy Bull Stakes back in February, he was keeping tougher company than many assumed at the time. Of the pair, in fact, things went rather more blatantly wrong for Domestic Product, bumped early before wasting energy against a slow pace and coming home wide. Domestic Product still managed to get closer to the winner than did the juvenile champion, and even in scrambling home in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby next time left a...

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...

Saturday's 14-race DraftKings Travers Day card generated a record-setting all-sources wagering handle of $63,023,405, according to a press release from NYRA on Saturday. The 2024 figure represents a 13.4 percent increase over the prior record of $55,559,317, which was established in 2022. Paid attendance on Saturday was 47,844 with on-track handle of $11,267,864. THE CHAMP IS BACK! Fierceness, son of @LanesEndFarms stallion City of Light, wins the G1 @DraftKings Travers Stakes, leaving no doubt that he's back on top! The legendary @ljlmvel was aboard for @PletcherRacing and @RepoleStable. pic.twitter.com/M8KY6h4sQr —...

If there was a knock on last year's champion 2-year-old and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) heading into Saturday's GI Travers S., it was that he couldn't fire his best shot in back-to-back races. Seems awfully silly now, doesn't it? Off as the 7-2 third choice and just a dime shy of 4-1 in the highlight of the summer meeting at Saratoga, the Repole Stable homebred backed up his exceptional win in the local prep GII Jim Dandy Stakes July 27 with a dramatic head victory over the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--There was a steady stream of people ambling over to trainer Kenny McPeek's barn at the Annex behind the Oklahoma Training Track Friday morning. They all wanted to send good thoughts to him and his 3-year-old filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), as Saturday's $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course quickly approached. McPeek, standing outside his office with his canine companion Sonny at his side, accepted all the positive vibes. Some lucky ones were even able to secure a pink Thorpedo Anna baseball cap, which were...

When 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) enters the gate for Saturday's $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga, it'll be more than a sporting gesture on the part of the ownership group and trainer Ken McPeek. The conditioner is rolling the dice against a field that includes three other Grade I winners--an oft-brilliant, but sometimes unpredictable reigning Eclipse Award champion, a Classic winner over the course and distance and a seven-figure yearling whose full potential has yet to be realized. Sure, Thorpedo Anna could have faced her peers in...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Trainer Kenny McPeek sat in his office at his barn at the Annex across from the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning and began rattling off the names. Ruffian. Genuine Risk. Winning Colors. Rags to Riches. Zenyatta. Rachel Alexandra. Beholder. They are some of the best fillies to ever do it on the racetrack. McPeek is hopeful that, after next Saturday, the name Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) might join that illustrious group. Thorpedo Anna, of course, is attempting to become the first filly since 1915 to win the $1.25...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. - Saturday is going to be a big day for horses being pointed to the $1.24-million GI Travers Stakes. Two key horses for the race--Dornoch (Good Magic) and Fierceness (City of Light)--had their final works switched from Friday to Saturday. They will join Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), Honor Marie (Honor Code) and Batten Down (Tapit), who are all scheduled to have their final Midsummer Derby moves on Saturday. Saratoga did have some heavy rain on Thursday, but the track appeared ok on...

Byron López was 18 years old when he moved from Guatemala and began working for a talented new trainer named Todd Pletcher. He started out as a hot walker and soon moved up to becoming a groom. Twenty-four years later, he now cares for some of the best of the best among Pletcher's elite stable. López shared his story in Spanish, but the deep devotion he has for his equine charges surpassed any language barriers. "I am motivated by the horses," he said. "They are so affectionate and I get...