Fierceness

Champion Fierceness (City of Light) continued his preparations for a likely start in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 30 with a half-mile breeze Friday at Palm Beach Downs in company with fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road). The pair clocked in at :48.89, leaving conditioner Todd Pletcher satisfied with the progress he'd seen since the GIII Holy Bull S. "Fierceness and Agate Road breezed a half together and both did really well, especially Fierceness. [He had] a strong gallop-out, looked good. He's continued to train really good...

The massive deep freeze which crippled the second half of Oaklawn Park's January cards seems like a distant memory, as weekend weather in Hot Springs looks to punch through the upper 60s and into the lower 70s. The sunshine will be a welcome sight with points intended for passage to the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks ripe for the picking.   Timberlake Favorite Choice in Rebel The Arkansas series for the colts features another running of the GII Rebel S., which brings together a field of 13. The...

The road to the GI Kentucky Derby has been unkind to Todd Pletcher so far this year, but that may be about to change. The Hall of Fame trainer is ready to regroup and will look to win the March 30 GI Florida Derby with Fierceness (City of Light) and the March 2 GII Fountain of Youth with Locked (Gun Runner). Locked, who is the 10-1 favorite beyond the "all others" option in the latest round of the Derby Future Wager, was originally scheduled to make his debut in the...

2023's Eclipse champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light) leads a list of 346 nominations to the 2024 Triple Crown according to a Tuesday release by the Kentucky Racing Communications Office. Last weekend's GIII Holy Bull S. third is one of 20 nominees owned by Repole Stables and one of 54 trained by Todd Pletcher to lead their respective categories. A further 18 horses were nominated by Bob Baffert and Brad Cox respectively. While the total number of nominees is down from last year, there are a record 47 potential runners...

Saturday's GIII Robert B. Lewis S. winner Nysos (Nyquist) jumped to the top of the NTRA Top 3-year-old Poll Tuesday with a near-unanimous 30 votes while GIII Holy Bull S. upsetter Hades (Awesome Slew) made his first appearance on the list in fifth. Muth (Good Magic) picked up a single first-place vote as well to check in second on the list behind his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate. Champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light) fell to third off his third-place performance in the Holy Bull. Track Phantom (Quality Road) filled out the...

As if ranking the contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby isn't enough of a challenge in and of itself, the crystal ball-gazing becomes even more hazy when you factor in the ban imposed by Churchill Downs, Inc., on trainees from Bob Baffert's stable (click here for a more detailed writeup on this subject). Even though the official Derby qualifying points leaderboard omits those horses, TDN's Top 12 will continue to include them for the time being on the basis that 1) the situation could change; 2) the performances of those...

'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), a disappointing third in his 3-year-old debut in Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S., exited the race in good order, reports owner Mike Repole. "He's perfectly fine," Repole said in a text message. Fierceness, the 2023 2-Year-Old male Eclipse champion, was coming off an overpowering win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and most believed he would pick up right where he left off in the Holy Bull, where he was the 1-5 favorite. Instead, he finished third, beaten 3 1/2 lengths. When asked...

All of the major runners in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby preps have come out of their respective races well according to releases by Aqueduct, Oaklawn and Gulfstream Park. GIII Holy Bull S. winner Hades (Awesome Slew) still had his connections flying high the morning after his upset win over 'TDN Rising Star' and Eclipse champion Fierceness (City of Light). "He galloped out really strong [yesterday]," trainer Joe Orseno told Gulfstream Park media Sunday morning. "I don't think we got to the bottom of him yet. We're real happy with him,...

All eyes were on Eclipse Award and runaway GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero Fierceness (City of Light) making his seasonal debut in Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park. The tote read 1-5 on the champ, but the Repole homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' was out of gas when push came to shove, and, in a bit of an oddly run race, D J Stable and Robert Cotran's unbeaten Hades (Awesome Slew) controlled a moderate tempo, slipped away from Fierceness in the final furlong and held off Domestic Product...

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack provides his analysis for Saturday's quartet of GI Kentucky Derby prep races. GIII Holy Bull S. - Last year's jaw-dropping GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) finds a perfect landing spot to launch his sophomore season versus seven overmatched rivals. Not worth trying to beat him here, even if he's closer to 1-9 than his 3-5 morning-line quote. I can't see him defeating the recently crowned 2023 champion 2-year-old, but how about Domestic Product (Practical Joke) to...

Repole Stable's newly crowned Eclipse Award winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) is set to make a much-anticipated sophomore debut in Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S., and--realistically--the homebred may not require his very best to make a victorious return to action. Brilliant as he was in breaking his maiden by better than 11 lengths at first asking in Uncle Mo-esque fashion over the summer at Saratoga, he was equally disappointing when beaten a long ways from home in the GI Champagne S. Those who quickly jumped ship...

Ocala Stud celebrated a significant achievement when Fierceness (City of Light) became the second GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner in a row to graduate from their breaking and training program, following hot on the heels of fellow Repole Stable standout Forte (Violence) in 2022. Newly crowned as champion 2-year-old male, Fierceness makes his much-anticipated sophomore debut on Saturday in the GIII Holy Bull S., but he won't be the only starter representing Ocala Stud. Hades (Awesome Slew), who is two for two for trainer Joe Orseno, was bred and raised...