Repole's Fierceness Puts Away a Deep Juvenile Field

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole acknowledged they did not know what to expect from Fierceness  in the $1.82 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park. As brilliant as the City of Light   colt had been in rolling to an 11 1/4-length debut win at Saratoga Race Course in the mud Aug. 25, he had been equally disappointing in finishing seventh, beaten 20 1/4 lengths over a sloppy track in the Oct. 7 Champagne Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct Racetrack.

"Todd and I have said all week," a jubilant Repole said after the 2-year-old romped by 6 1/4 lengths, "'If he's sixth by 12 (lengths) or first by five, we wouldn't be surprised.' We're not surprised, but we're pretty happy right now."

Though Fierceness had been odds-on in his two prior starts, he was dismissed at 16-1 in the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile, while existing grade 1 winners Locked , Muth , Prince of Monaco , and Timberlake  started at odds of between 2-1 and 5-1.

None could keep up late with Fierceness, who, after chasing Champagne runner-up General Partner  through fractions of :23.25, :47.02, and 1:10.86, kicked into gear on the second turn and through the stretch. He opened up a two-length lead ahead of a rallying Muth an eighth of a mile before the finish and continued to pile on the margin of victory late before an announced crowd of 43,377 at Santa Anita. 

"When I asked him to run he was there for me, very nicely," Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez said.

The rally from Zedan Racing Stable's Muth, under Juan Hernandez, stalled in the final furlong, though he lasted for second, a half-length ahead of favored Locked, the Breeders' Futurity (G1) winner who was slow into stride early.

Locked's jockey, Jose Ortiz, felt his horse was compromised by a tepid pace and being unable to secure a more forward position. He and Pletcher were pleased with his late finish.

Timberlake, Prince of Monaco, General Partner, Cuban Thunder , Wine Me Up , and Noted  completed the order of finish in the nine-horse field.

Repole Stable's Fierceness ($35) blitzed the distance in 1:41.90, much faster than the 1:44.58 time posted by Just F Y I  in winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) earlier on the Friday card.

Pletcher won the Juvenile for the fourth time and the second straight year after success at Keeneland last fall with Forte  , owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable. Pletcher's other victories came with Repole Stable's Uncle Mo   in 2010 and in 2012 with Shanghai Bobby  for owners Starlight Racing and the Coolmore-affiliated partnership of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith.

Pletcher notched his 15th overall victory at the Breeders' Cup, Velazquez his 20th, and his second in the Juvenile after initial success with Uncle Mo 13 years ago.

"Todd, Johnny, and I won that race in our 30s. I still look like I'm in my 30s. They look like they're in their 50s and 60s," Repole quipped. "To win that race again with Johnny, that was really, really special."

When a post-Champagne check-up revealed nothing amiss with Fierceness, Pletcher and Repole decided to consider the Juvenile, with breezes at Keeneland in company with barnmates Locked and Noted as a basis.

"I don't think too many people would have run him other than Todd and I," Repole said.

"And so we said, let's see how he trains and he's got to sell us on the idea of running, and he did come back with two really good works," Pletcher said. "So we took a shot, and today it worked out; a beautiful trip, and he showed what he's all about."

A homebred for Repole, Fierceness is the lone runner and winner of three foals of racing age out of the winning Stay Thirsty   mare Nonna Bella . The dam also has a yearling full brother to Fierceness and a Caravaggio  filly born this year.

Repole raced both Nonna Bella and Stay Thirsty and is a shareholder in City of Light, who stands next year at Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Ky., for $35,000. Besides Fierceness, Mimi Kakushi  is another graded/group winner for the second-crop stallion, having captured the U.A.E. Oaks (G3) at Meydan earlier in the year. 

With Friday's easy victory, Fierceness is all but certain to be named champion 2-year-old male during an Eclipse Award ceremony in late January. Thirty-one of the 39 prior Juvenile winners were awarded that prize, with most winning by smaller margins.

Additionally, Fierceness will likely become the early favorite for next May's Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs. He earned 30 qualifying points toward the Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, leaving him in first place on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

Only two horses have pulled off the Juvenile-Derby Double: Jim Tafel's Street Sense  , trained by Carl Nafzger, did so in 2006-07, and Nyquist   followed in 2015-16 for owner Reddam Racing and trainer Doug O'Neill.

Many, such as Uncle Mo and Forte, missed the race due to physical setbacks, leading Repole, with a sly smile, to state at the press conference, "So I'm not going to think about the Derby with this race."

Give him time.