Fierceness

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...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Tuesday, trainer Ian Wilkes spent 12 hours driving from Kentucky to Saratoga Race Course. By the end of the day Saturday, he is hoping that the time he spent behind the wheel was worth it. Only his 3-year-old filly Just Basking (Arrogate) will be able to let him know if the journey was justified. Just Basking is one of eight 3-year-old fillies entered to run in the $600,000 GI Alabama Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga. "If you can't believe in your horse, you shouldn't...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- It was quiet trackside at Saratoga Race Course Friday morning. Everyone had a day off after the New York Racing Association canceled Friday's card after Thursday's was run. The reason was the havoc expected to blow through the area thanks to the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby. The heavy stuff was predicted to come later in the afternoon. Horses, however, did not get the memo. They still went to work. As did the trainers and exercise riders and grooms and hotwalkers. "No days off," Hall of...

Repole Stable's homebred 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) returned to the worktab Thursday for the first time since his determined one-length victory in the GII Jim Dandy July 27, posting a half-mile in company with graded stakes winner Surprisingly (Mastery) in :49.59 (89/172) over the Saratoga Race Course main track. "Perfect," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said of the work. "We originally scheduled it for tomorrow, but that [the weather] looked dicey, so we went today. He did really good and seems very happy. He went with...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--After the impressive win in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course last weekend, the chances of the winner, Fierceness (City of Light) showing up in the $1.25, GI Travers Stakes were--take your pick--slim and none. Much has changed in the last few days and now Fierceness may very well be on his way to a date with the likes of Dornoch (Good Magic), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and the filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). "That is what we are thinking about," Hall of Fame trainer...

When City of Light won the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in 2018, it was one of the more impressive performances of the day. Although it had already been announced he would enter stud in 2019 at Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky., he had one race remaining on his dance card: the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes the following January. He romped that day as well, besting a slightly favored GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner with a 112 Beyer Speed Figure, which topped his 110 Breeders' Cup mark,...

TDN Rising Star Mindframe (Constitution), runner up in both Grade I attempts, will be sidelined because of bone bruising through the remainder of this year, according to DRF Wednesday. Campaigned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, the Todd Pletcher trainee was sent to Ocala, Florida earlier this week and was examined by Dr. John Madison. With the defection of Mindframe, Repole also indicated that recent GII Jim Dandy Stakes winner Fierceness (City of Light) is a possibility to run in the Aug. 24 GI Travers S. "He's clear go...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.-A healthy field of 12 was entered Sunday for the 97th running of the $1-million GI Whitney Stakes, which will be run at Saratoga Race Course Saturday. National Treasure (Quality Road), from Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, will be the favorite as he is ranked as the top older horse in the country in the weekly NTRA poll. Evidently, he is not scaring anyone off. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has a trio of horses entered in Bright Future (Curlin), Charge It (Tapit) and Crupi (Curlin)....