Fierceness

When Fierceness (City of Light) put on a show in the GI Florida Derby there didn't seem to be any question over who the favorite would be in the GI Kentucky Derby. The Mike Repole-homebred put on quite a show that day, winning by a record 13 1/2 lengths while earning a 110 Beyer figure, the fastest dirt number recorded by any horse this year. He gave the impression that if he could duplicate that race in the Kentucky Derby, there wouldn't be a horse on the planet that could...

It very quickly became clear that the stallions launched in 2019 included an above-average proportion equipped to last the course. And the start being made by their second crop of sophomores has only reiterated that impression. Thanks to the contentious prohibition of his ban by a gaming corporation, GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth is ineligible to give Good Magic a second GI Kentucky Derby from two attempts. (Though the Hill 'n' Dale sire might yet manage that with the same mare who gave him the first one, with Mage's brother...

'TDN Rising Star' and champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light) exited his 13 1/2-length romp in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby in "great" condition according to a social media post by owner Repole Stables. The post, accompanied by a photo of the colt with his winning flowers, reads: "Good morning from Fierceness. He came out of the race great. What a thrilling and epic performance! Happy and healthy Easter to all." With a leaderboard-topping 136 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, Fierceness is bound for Louisville along with...

You need to channel your inner Meat Loaf to put Saturday's trio of points-awarding stakes for the GI Kentucky Derby in perspective. The well-backed winners of the GI Arkansas Derby, GI Florida Derby, and G2 UAE Derby all delivered commanding, speed-centric performances that transformed what has been an underwhelming prep season into a Triple Crown chase suddenly spiked with intrigue. 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) swatted back a surprise mid-race attack to win authoritatively at Oaklawn. Fellow 'Rising Star' and juvenile champ Fierceness (City of Light) administered a 13...

Now that's much more like it. Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old colt 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), a head-scratching third after getting pinballed at the start in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3, put on an absolute show to win by daylight in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. It was a record-extending eighth Florida Derby win for Todd Pletcher and sixth for John Velazquez. "That was a pretty awesome performance," Pletcher said. "That's what we see in the mornings...

If you do not happen to be a Lord of the Rings devotee, then as a horse racing fan you might assume that Gandalf, Frodo, Saruman and Sauron were just names some eccentric owners concocted to toy with The Jockey Club. Well, for true disciples of Tolkein, you understand the 'Two Towers' reference is a major theme in the trilogy, but for our purposes it simply denotes coverage. This Saturday, both Oaklawn Park and Gulfstream Park are those poles of power when it comes to authoring graded stakes. Their cards...

During Saturday's post-position draw at Gulfstream, Repole Stable's Fierceness (City of Light) was installed the 8-5 favorite on the morning line for next weekend's GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. Drawing post 10 in the field off 11, the colt will try to give his trainer Todd Pletcher a record eighth win in the Classic prep. Pletcher won the nine-furlong test with defending 2-year-old champion Forte (Violence) last year. "Normally I'd be afraid of the outside post, but Forte won from the 11 last year, so you can overcome...

D J Stable and Robert Cotran's GIII Holy Bull S. winner Hades (Awesome Slew) worked a half-mile in an easy :50.21 over the Gulfstream Park main track Friday morning, his final serious gallop ahead of next Saturday's $1-million GI Curlin Florida Derby. A perfect three-for-three in his career, Hades was scheduled to breeze Saturday, but forecast heavy rains led trainer Joe Orseno to call an audible and work the gelding 24 hours earlier. "He has exceeded my expectations," Orseno said, "even with today's last breeze going into the Florida Derby....

Repole Stable's Fierceness (City of Light), who was named a 'TDN Rising Star' after he broke his maiden at first asking at Saratoga last August, breezed five furlongs Friday morning at Palm Beach Downs in preparation for the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 30 at Gulfstream Park, the track said in a release late Friday afternoon. The 2023 Eclipse Award 2-year-old champion, who finished third in the Feb. 3 GIII Holy Bull S., breezed in company with Spendthrift Farm's Tuscan Sky (Vino Rosso). The Todd Pletcher-trained duo was timed in...

GII Risen Star S. winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) was named the favorite for Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. The 'TDN Rising Star' is the 5-1 morning-line choice in the pool that opens Friday, March 15, per a release from CDI. Other top interests in the pool include GII Rebel S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief), GII Fountain of Youth S. victor Dornoch (Good Magic) and Eclipse champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light). The lone future wager for the GI Kentucky Oaks also begins Friday with 'TDN Rising...

We're at the two-month mark for the GI Kentucky Derby, and we're on the cusp of the major prep races getting extended to nine furlongs and beyond. Not all of the Triple Crown-caliber horses on this list, however, are pointing for the first Saturday in May. 1) NYSOS (c, Nyquist--Zetta Z, by Bernardini) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Baoma Corp; B-Susie Atkins (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $130,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $150,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $550,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 3-3-0-0, $216,600. Last start: WON Feb. 3 GIII Robert F....

Within the past three months, the purses for all three Triple Crown races have been raised. Paradoxically, this increase in prize money has coincided with a 2024 prep race season that is uncharacteristically light on emphatic, leap-off-the-page contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S., and GI Belmont S. The first weekend in March has traditionally served as a launch pad for sophomores who figure to excel in the spring Classics and beyond. Of all the prep stakes currently carded at 1 1/16 miles, the two that have historically...