Fierceness

LOUISVILLE, KY--What a difference a day makes. The activity on the backside only a day ago offered a hint that something big was encroaching, however, Wednesday dawned with an explosion of activity straight out of the gate. Masses piled onto the barn area to watch the morning workouts, reminding me just how different Churchill Downs is Derby week when compared to almost any other racetrack in the United States. Fans are given a tremendous amount of access, creating an atmosphere that is difficult to compare most other venues. Trying to...

LOUISVILLE, KY--Having not attended the Kentucky Derby since American Pharoah won in 2015, I was reminded of why it's really worth the trip. Yes, one has to deal with the logistics. Limited parking, long walks to get to your destination, excessively priced hotels and car rentals, in addition to the singular hope that a Kentucky Derby Day ticket might miraculously have fallen into your hands. It's probably hard for some to understand just how many people converge in Louisville at the same time, creating something of a controlled chaos. The...

In a special edition of the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland, the team of Bill Finley, Zoe Cadman and Randy Moss discussed all 20 horses entered in this year's GI Kentucky Derby, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The consensus pick was Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), the winner of the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. He was picked on top by both Cadman and Finley. "He's in great form, seems to be improving and should love the 1 1/4 miles," Finley said. "He'll need a fast...

Featuring $200-million worth of improvements in its new paddock area, Churchill Downs hosted the draw ceremony for next weekend's GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks during its opening night card Saturday. As usual, the proceedings drew some cheers, and jeers, from the crowd. Possibly numbered among the latter, the connections of the 5-2 morning line favorite 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) couldn't have been overly thrilled with drawing post 17 for Saturday's Run for the Roses. Campaigned by his breeder Mike Repole, the reigning juvenile champ comes...

'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), the likely favorite for next Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, completed his final breeze for the first leg of the Triple Crown with a half-mile work Friday in :48.80 (43/68). Working under jockey John Velazquez and in company with fellow 'Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road), the Repole Stables homebred and runaway GI Curlin Florida Derby winner worked through fractions of :12.80, :24.80, :36.80 and :48.80 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.60, six furlongs in 1:12.60 and seven-eighths in 1:26. "I'm very, very...

Likely GI Kentucky Derby favorites and 'TDN Rising Stars' Fierceness (City of Light) (9-2) and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) (6-1) will open as the second and third choices in the Preakness Future Wager when the final pool opens Friday, Apr. 26. The Preakness Future Wager favorite is GI Arkansas Derby winner and 'Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic), listed at 3-1 after opening at 19-1 in the first Preakness Future Wager, while Bob Baffert-trained stablemate and GI Santa Anita Derby runner-up Imagination (Into Mischief) is 12-1. Muth and Imagination will not...

With Derby week just around the corner, the morning work tab under the Twin Spires was chock full of participants Wednesday, but one Derby entry went further than the others. Susumu Fujita's undefeated Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) worked six furlongs in 1:19.60 over a fast track. With jockey Ryusei Sakai aboard, the colt posted fractions of :14.80, :28.80, :42.60, :55.20, 1:19.60 and out seven furlongs in 1:33,60. He was joined for the last half-mile by Cuffed Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}), an unraced 3-year-old for trainer Dale Romans. "Thanks...

Repole Stable's Fierceness (City of Light) made his first appearance over the Churchill Downs main track on a sun-splashed Tuesday morning. Under regular exercise rider Danny Wright, Fierceness galloped a mile during the 7:30-7:45 training window for Kentucky Derby and Oaks runners. Wright has been the regular morning partner for the defending juvenile champion since last summer at Saratoga. "He looked smooth and handled it well," trainer Todd Pletcher said of the morning's activity. Winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and GI Curlin Florida Derby, Fierceness is scheduled to...

Bill Mott's Barn 19 was busy Monday morning as Kentucky Derby and Oaks hopefuls GSW Resilience (Into Mischief) and MGISW Just F Y I (Justify) put in published five-furlong workouts. The former galloped about one mile before producing a move clocked in 1:01.60 under jockey Junior Alvarado and easily galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.60, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. "He's the type of horse that has taken a little more time to mature than some others," trainer Bill Mott said. "We took our time with his development...

GI Florida Derby champ Fierceness (City of Light) breezed at Palm Beach Downs on Friday morning in preparation for the GI Kentucky Derby. The Eclipse Award winner covered five furlongs in 1:00.35 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, while working in company with fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road). "I thought he worked super--a solid five-eighths with a good gallop-out, exactly what we were targeting," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. "I think he is doing every bit as good, if not better, than he was...

Champion 2-year-old Colt, 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Curlin Florida Derby hero Fierceness (City of Light) returned to action Friday with his first work following his 13 1/2-length romp in last month's Florida Derby. The Repole Stables-owned runner went four furlongs in :50.17 (13/22) under regular pilot John Velazquez with trainer Todd Pletcher looking on. "He's been great since the Florida Derby. His energy level is good. He's seemed to take the race really well," said Pletcher. "He had a nice easy breeze this morning and was moving great. Really,...

Following his dominant victory in the G1 Dubai World Cup, Juddmonte Farms' homebred Laurel River (Into Mischief) is at the top of the second edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2024 with a rating of 128. The 6-year-old was never threatened in the World Cup, romping home by 8 1/2 lengths over Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre) (120 on the Longine rankings), with Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) (121) a neck back in third. Laurel River came into the race having won the G3 Burj Nahaar by 6 3/4 lengths...