The Fierceness Follies Returns to Del Mar
Is the Breeders’ Cup Classic going to be a mere formality for the Sovereignty express or a rare repeat victory for Sierra Leone or will someone else step up to run the race of their life? It could very well depend on which Fierceness shows up. That is the dilemma the racing world has faced each time the colt has run over the past three years. ~ Steve Haskin
The Fierceness Follies Returns to Del Mar
By Steve Haskin
I remember back in the fifties we had popular family TV shows like Ozzie and Harriet and Father Knows Best. In 1957 came Leave it to Beaver, which was seen from the two kids’ point of view rather than the parents, who for the first time were the supporting players. Yes, this is leading somewhere as roundabout as it may seem.
The Cleavers had two sons, the oldest, Wally, a straight ‘A’ student who was the most popular kid in school — in athletics and with the girls. The youngest, Theodore, who everyone called Beaver, was a sweet adorable kid, but the theme of most every episode was what kind of trouble was the Beaver going to get into this time. Although every parent dreams of having a son like Wally, it was Beaver who made this one of the most popular shows for six years, and decades after in reruns.
If the show had been about Wally it would have gone off the air after one season. It was the Beaver’s minor misadventures and not knowing what to expect next that made him so lovable and kept viewers coming back.
Well, it took a while to get here, but Fierceness is my Beaver. Sure I love horses like Sovereignty and Flightline and all the other straight ‘A’ dependable students who thrill us time after time. But once in a while it’s fun to have a Fierceness, who can never be accused of being boring. Yes, he can be frustrating to his “parents,” in this case Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher, but like the Cleavers, they love him unconditionally. And he keeps their life interesting, not to mention driving the analysts and bettors crazy not knowing which Fierceness is going to show up.
Eddie Rosen, advisor to Mike Repole, summed it up best. “First of all, we take great pride in the fact that he is a homebred from a family near and dear to Mike,” he said. “Yes, he is as everyone has pointed out, an enigma. On his best day he is the best horse in America but, unfortunately, he has also disappointed on occasion. In some of those disappointing races, there has been an explanation but other times his performance seems inexplicable.
“The constant cry of his detractors was first that he couldn’t put two good races together but he dispelled that last year with his last three races. Then those same detractors said he had to have everything go his way. Well his performance in the Pacific Classic was exactly the opposite. Nothing went his way. He almost unseated Johnny (Velazquez) at the start, found himself behind a wall of horses and then had to split horses. Looking forward to this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, which if all contenders stay sound, will be amazing and we look forward to seeing Fierceness prove once and for all how very special he is.”
Pletcher’s foreman of 25 years, Juan Aguayo, also believes he’s special and very intelligent. “He knows when it’s time to play, time to train, and time to rest,” he said. “I got really close to him during his 3-year-old campaign when Todd had me accompany him and his groom to the paddock before his races. He began to get more relaxed and easier to saddle and now when he gets slightly aggressive before the race he is telling us he feels good and is ready to run his race.”
There is little doubt that when he is special and when he runs his race he’s been close to unbeatable. This is a horse who has run eight negative Thoro-Graph numbers (anything under a zero is considered very fast), which is twice as many as his arch rival Sierra Leone, and makes him the overall fastest horse among the Breeders’ Cup contenders.
But he has also run a pedestrian “12” when beaten 20 lengths at 1-2 odds in the Champagne and a “12 ¾” when beaten 24 lengths as the 3-1 Kentucky Derby favorite. Equally, if not more bewildering, however, was his mediocre “4 ½” when finishing a lackluster third in the Holy Bull Stakes at odds of 1-5. True to form, all three of those head-scratching performances were followed by negative Thoro-Graph numbers.
The key to solving his puzzling career appeared to be the nearly three months off between last year’s Kentucky Derby and Jim Dandy Stakes when he returned a far more professional horse and has since run six negative Thoro-Graph numbers in his last seven starts. Strangely, one of those six negative numbers came in this year’s Whitney Stakes when he inexplicably blew a three-length lead after turning for home and quickly faded to fifth as the 6-5 favorite. That followed a second in the Met Mile at 3-5 when he was outrun in the stretch by the California-based speedster Raging Torrent.
So he starts off the 2025 season breaking the Churchill Downs 1 1/16-mile track record in the Alysheba Stakes, followed by two defeats in stakes he was supposed to win, and follows that up by crushing the top-class 3-year-old Journalism in the Pacific Classic despite his adventurous start. Here we are after 13 lifetime races, seven victories, and $5.1 million in earnings, and do we really have any clue what to expect in the Breeders’ Cup Classic back at Del Mar, a race in which he was spectacular in defeat last year?
Which episode of Leave it to Beaver are we going to see, “Beaver’s Bad Day” or “Beaver Becomes a Hero?” (Both titles of actual episodes).
As Eddie Rosen pointed out, this horse has had his detractors since he was a 2-year-old, despite being the champion juvenile. At 3 he was branded as unreliable and fainthearted in battle when he began the year as the heavy early Kentucky Derby favorite and let his backers down in the Holy Bull Stakes, putting up no fight when looked in the eye by an inferior opponent at 1-5. Then he reverted back to his brilliant form of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when he demolished his field, including the same horse who had just beaten him, in the Florida Derby, romping by 13 ½ lengths. But the roller coaster ride continued in the Kentucky Derby when he stopped badly and finished 15th.
A lot has happened since, and as he is about to run in the biggest, and perhaps last, race of his career, which should help tell us just how he is going to be remembered, let’s go back and try to figure out just who this brilliant, but enigmatic colt really is.
As you probably know by now he was actually bred by Mike Repole, who had purchased his granddam Nonna Mia as a yearling for $200,000 and named her after his beloved “nonna” (grandmother in Italian). After winning two of her seven starts, Nonna Mia was bred to Repole’s Travers winner and Belmont Stakes runner-up Stay Thirsty and produced Nonna Bella (beautiful grandmother in Italian). She won two of her five starts and was retired and bred to Repole’s first champion Uncle Mo twice, with neither foal making it to the races. Repole then bred her to City of Light and got Fierceness, who received his early training at Ocala Stud in Florida.
“He quietly went through our program without attracting anyone’s attention,” said David O’Farrell, whose grandfather Joe O’Farrell founded the farm in 1956. “He just did his thing, but not in a bad way. He just didn’t stand out. He wasn’t a big stout colt and City of Light wasn’t that hot at the time. He did what was asked of him and was very easy on himself. Todd likes to have them breeze three-eighths before being sent to him. When we stepped up his breeze schedule and started pressing on him we told Todd ‘This colt could be OK.’ And he felt the same way after we sent the colt to him. Of course no one was thinking this could a 2-year-old champion. But he caught everyone by surprise when he started outworking everything they put him with him. That’s when we realized this colt had some serious ability.”
Pletcher had received him at the end of June in 2023. Six weeks later he stepped his works up to five-eighths. “It was in his five-furlong breeze on August 6 that he showed star potential,” Pletcher said,
On August 25, he was entered in a six-furlong maiden race on a muddy track at Saratoga, By then the word was out on him and he went off at even-money. He went right to the front, set blazing fractions of :22 flat and :44 3/5 and just coasted home geared down to win by 11 ¼ lengths in 1:09 2/5.
“We were surprised how massive a performance he turned in first time out,” O’Farrell said, “Those types of debuts are few and far between.”
That race was so spectacular, Pletcher not only put him right in the one-mile Grade 1 Champagne Stakes, he went off as the 1-2 favorite. But to everyone’s shock he floundered in the slop and finished seventh, beaten 20 lengths.
The aftershock felt four weeks later in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was even stronger, as Fierceness, now all-but-forgotten to Pletcher’s newest star and 2-1 favorite Locked, blew everyone away to win by 6 ¼ lengths in 1:41 4/5 at a hefty 16-1. Just like that, he was a champion and the early Kentucky Derby favorite.
But the roller coaster ride was just getting started. For the next two years, watching Fierceness’s races I couldn’t help but think of a scene in the movie Parenthood when Steve Martin’s seemingly old and feeble grandmother tells a story that goes like this: “When I was 19, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up, down, up, down. Oh what a ride. It was so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together. Some didn’t like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just went around. I like the roller coaster. You get so much more out of it.”
Fierceness’s ups and downs are not as steep as they were before last summer, but they are still enough to keep you guessing before each start. When his name is mentioned, some are going to think of his brilliant victories, some his frustrating defeats, and others the money they won on him, or most definitely the money they lost.
I’m sure Mike Repole will agree with me when I say I will think of the roller coaster ride he took us all on. And no matter if I felt sick or excited at the end of each ride I couldn’t wait to get back on.
Photo courtesy of Benoit Photo.
Racing historian, author, and award-winning retired journalist for the Daily Racing Form and The Blood-Horse, Steve Haskin was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame’s Media Roll of Honor in 2016. Known for his racing knowledge and insightful prose, he has been an exclusive contributor to Secretariat.com since 2020.
Incidentally, I saw a video and read that another top notch horse is now in training for the Breeders Cup Classic.
Forever Young will be coming to the Classic this year.
It should be a great race.
I’m delighted that he’s returning! He’s always fun to watch.
Thanks for this informative analysis of Fierceness and his unpredictability. Both his sire (City of Light) and grand sire (Quality Road) have been more consistent.
I am glad that Johnny V is riding Fierceness as he knows how to deal with difficult horses. Johnny V and Mike Smith have ridden temperamental fillies and mares. One mare, Judy The Beauty, would come in second place unless one of the aforementioned jockeys were riding her.
By the way, one of my friends owned a retired thoroughbred mare that would only allow her to ride him.
P.S. Johnny V gave a riding clinic on Fierceness in the Pacific Classic.
Hurray Delacroix!
Delacroix (Dubawi out of our beloved Tepin) wins Irish Champion Stakes.
Happy to hear this news!
Hey Lynda: Just I missed that one — my recording ran out at noon. I was very impressed with the 2YO Benvenuto Cellini who buried his field in the Champions Juvenile. He’s by Frankel out of the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf-winning Lope de Vega mare, Newspaperofrecord. The British announcer on FanDuel, Jess Sheppard, thought there might be a chance Benvenuto comes for the BC Juvenile Turf.
Just now getting caught up on horse racing both here and abroad.
It has been an emotionally draining week including the 9/11 anniversary and the two national national tragedies. Needed a diversionary horse racing dies that for me.
Also getting an early start on fall cleaning.
Me too arlington fan and Ms B thanks fir the results, will check them out.
Read a little blurb that a Justify won a big race on turf for Coolmore and Aiden.
Yes, Scandinavia won the St. Leger.
Lots of body blows if you pay attention to the news. As long as they stay sound, the horses are a good anecdote for that. If you missed it, check out the win by Precise, in the Group 1 Moyglare Stakes. She descends from a rare half-bred family, starting with the Perion mare (1834c). Family includes Epsom Oaks winner Quashed and Irish Guineas winner Sonic Lady. Hybrid vigor in a beautiful filly.
I hear you about fall cleaning! Just finished mine, so I will rest on my laurels for a while. I have back to back company this week, all in-laws. The first couple live in a brand-new sparkling clean house. Because the walls in my house are 110 year old wood planks, it’s ALWAYS Halloween-ready (cobwebs). Luckily the SECOND set of inlaws don’t notice them.
Had to laugh, Halloween ready”.
Hope you nice visits with family.
I receive e -mail alerts from TDN, need to get busy reading all of them
What a wonderful expose` on Fierceness, a horse I adore! Thank you, Steve, for pointing out that he may not be consistent, but he is quite brilliant.
Steve, I found the Thoro-graph stats on Fierceness most interesting. Even though he’s run a string of negative figures, he LOST the Whitney, running fifth. Just goes to show you the fastest horse doesn’t always win. I prefer the horses that have impressed me most, Sovereignty and Sierra Leone. Still, there’s a long way to go until the first of November. When we get closer to time, it will be fascinating to see what kind of juicy odds are available on my all-time favorite of these two crops — Journalism. Omit him at your own risk.
Sierra Leone had one impressive race, the Whitnet, but even that was a gift, just like the BCC, where everything went his way. When he was faced with running down Forever Young and Mystik Dan in the Derby, he fell short. The same with running down Antiquarian in the JCGC and Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna in the Travers.
Agree Forte.
Steve,
Nice article on Fierceness here. He is very good horse and not taking anything away from his win in the Pacific Classic which was a nice one but other than Journalism who did he beat? And now he will be having 2 months off from the BCC I don’t like his chances of “winning” that race unless he will be coming from mid pack or way off the pace and the same goes for Mindframe, who I feel got nothing from the JGC and will be basically 4 months out from his last race. If they had Charlie Whittingham training them I would give them a great chance of winning the race but they have Todd Pletcher as their trainer who doesn’t exactly strike a lot of enthusiasum when it comes to getting horses that like to run a 1 1/4 mile race with their running style, especially with the long layoffs they will be coming off of. Now I know Fierceness likes Del Mar and the west coast and that is one big positive in his favor but again he will be running against the best especially with the stretch kicks that both Sovereignty and Sierra Leone have shown in the past both will be hard to hold off…. I just don’t see it for Fierceness.. Now if there are a lot of defections coming into the BCC that will be another story . Right now I like him for 2nd or 3rd.
My take on the Travers
Sovereignty won it nicely and ran a big race and won like he should against the bunch he faced. I expected better from Magnitude but I put the blame squarely on Asmussen (SA) on his performance. SA trained him like a claimer and he ran like one.
Bracket Buster ran a terrific race but no match for the winner. Strategic Focus a nicely bred horse just never looked comfortable before , during and after the race. Trainer was asking too much from this horse. He needs more seasoning and easier races to build confidence. Mcafee what a mess needs easier races. I know Mott will have Sovereignty looking like a glistening marble statue for the BCC.. He will need a great ride and racing luck to win the BCC but he has a lot going for him.
Will be very interested in seeing Locked and Nysos in their next race. Hopefully Nysos will be ready for the Goodwood if not I guess Baffert will try and get him in the dirt mile. Same for Locked in the Woodward if he runs big he good be a threat in the BCC.
Got to go for now will have more to say later.
Nysos hasn’t worked in 3 weeks, when Bob forced a :58 out of him and obviously made the poor horse regress. I wouldn’t be looking for him in the BC in any race.
Bingo! Bend em till they break.
Maybe I am wrong, it won’t be the first time but I believe that Sovereignty & Sierra Leone are better horses. Sierra Leone was severely compromised in the Pacific Classic.
Until Sovereignty loses I will stick with him. I am not convinced that Fierceness is better than Mindframe.
Fierceness is a very good horse, no argument from me. I also expect Journalism to run a better race in the BCC. I don’t know how the bloggers here feel but I don’t pay much attention to the Beyer speed figures
I the last 10 years or so the 3 best colts I saw run are Flightline, Arrogate & Authentic.
That is just me though. I believe Sovereignty will be right thjere with those three.
Good luck to all.
Great comments Deacon. Agreed regarding Beyer figs- something of little importance.
I think you are wrong. Sovereignty is the only horse that will have any hope of beating a Fierceness that fires.
I think that Fierceness is a champion through and through. Even in his recent losses he has impressed me with his heart. I agree that the seeming perfection of horses like Sovereignty and Flightline can elicit respect and even awe. But as much as I was amazed by Affirmed, Alydar always had a big piece of my heart. That same piece holds my feelings for Fierceness
Fierceness is like my golf game. Some days it shows up, some days it doesn’t and I don’t find out until the first tee.
There are many angles, when you handicap a horse race—the first one I employ is “Whose best is best”…and THATS Fierceness! THREE times this Summer—the bettors have got it wrong….they favored Kopion over Sweet Azteca…Journalism over Fierceness…and one Saturday they made Medoro a 3/5 favorite, over the eastern filly who had been doing well vs better—-“whose best is BEST”—is an important angle..
Fierceness kind of reminds me of Allen Iverson the basketball player. Practice? You’re talkin’ about practice? When he wants to show up he does and leaves jaws dropping and the opponent’s jockstrap on the court/course…. But I did score big on him in the BC Juvy thanks to Steve pointing out that his best would be a winning ride, and he has proven that he always has better than a 16-1 chance of running his best race!
Love the “Leave It To Beaver” comparison. Count me in as one from that generation who watched the series.
Fierceness has been and continues to be a favorite. I always cheer for him and jump for joy when he wins. When he loses, we’ll, what can I say?? What comes to mind about him is the Jerry Reid song, “When You’re Hot You’re Hot, When You’re Not You’re Not”.
Some of you might remember Jerry from the two “Smokey and The Bandit” movies that starred Burt Reynolds. Reid played Cledus Snow and his CB radio handle was “Snowman”. He actually drove the big rig in the movies and wrote the theme song “East Bound and Down”.
Enjoyed reading your column about Fierceness, Steve. I have not bet on him since the KY Derby—but oh what a ride he has taken us on.
Fierceness is definitely an enigma. But then I myself have my Helm’s Deep days when all I want to do is stay inside with the drawbridge up. Unlike horses, humans can explain what is going on. Fierceness when he wants to run, he does and becomes an A+ student. When he is bored, or having a bad day, Fierceness flunks. And bless his equine heart, cannot tell
us why. I enjoy watching Fierceness perform but I wouldn’t bet a dime on him. Thanks Steve, as always for your insights. Nobody does it better.
Hi Sharon–as an LOTR fan, I loved the Helm’s Deep reference! It would be fascinating to have an animal communicator work with Fierceness to see what he says.
Great piece Steve, you’ve managed to put our joy of racing and joys of our youth together. You have a lovely mind and the ability to express it!
Thank you very much Derek.
Your certainly a credit to Wossamotta U
You said it perfectly. I’ve loved Fierceness ever since his first race. I never gave up on him when he ran badly because I knew from his good races that he was capable of being outstanding. I also have learned to enjoy his unpredictability. The fact that you never know what to expect makes his races more fun and his wins even more gratifying. I never would have thought to compare him to Beaver Cleaver, but there definitely is a similarity and you nailed it. Thank you for a particularly enjoyable column about a favorite horse.
Fierceness might not put two good ones )…but he also does not put two bad ones together!….Funny you should mention Leave It to Beaver…..a group of guys…me included—wete at Kis Al one hot night, and “Eddie Haskell” was racing his weiner dog at the “Weiner Nationals”…..Ken was his name, and even though he was elderly—it was like talking with Eddie Haskell!..
(Los Al)..