Chelsea Durand Photo

Fierceness digs in deep to repel filly Thorpedo Anna in thrilling renewal of G1 DraftKings Travers

by Mary Eddy

In one of racing’s most heart-pounding stretch drives of the year, the reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Fierceness showed tremendous determination to turn back the valiant challenge of top 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna and capture the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers by a head at Saratoga Race Course.

“That was incredible,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He sat patiently, made a big move, and held off a tremendous filly.”

Fierceness, who earned back-to-back wins for the first time in his career after scoring in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun last out on July 27 here, put any doubts about his true ability to rest when displaying unmatched grit over a stacked field that included Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell-winner Dornoch, Grade 1-winner Sierra Leone, and three-time Grade 1-winning filly Thorpedo Anna, among a field of eight.

Kenny McPeek, trainer of Thorpedo Anna, expressed immense pride in his beloved filly, who was only the fifth filly to run in the Travers since 1962, and posted the best finish since.

"I'm just proud of the team and everything. We've had a lot of fun with her, and she's been great,” said McPeek. “Everything really went to plan other than one horse in her way. She's so special, and we're just really proud of her.”

Fierceness, a Kentucky homebred for Repole Stable, provided Pletcher with his third victory in the prestigious 10-furlong route for sophomores after he stormed home past a raucous Saratoga grandstand under Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez, finding more with every stride to thwart Thorpedo Anna’s attempt at becoming the first filly since Lady Rotha in 1915 to win the Travers.

In victory, Fierceness also became the 13th horse to land the Jim Dandy/Travers double, joining a list that includes the Pletcher-trained and Repole-owned Stay Thirsty in 2011. Fierceness is out of the winning Stay Thirsty mare Nonna Bella.

“In 2007, I bought the granddam Nonna Mia, and Stay Thirsty won the Travers,” said owner Mike Repole. “It’s just so special. It’s a special race and a special day.”

The City of Light bay achieved Travers immortality with an expert trip carved out by regular pilot Velazquez from the outermost post 8 in a field expected to be full of speed, but it was only the sharp-starting Batten Down who rushed to the front under Junior Alvarado to mark an opening quarter-mile in 23.53 seconds with Dornoch sitting a close second over the fast main track.

“It came out really the way I thought. I knew if he broke well, I would be pretty close to the lead,” said Velazquez, who earned his third Travers victory. “After watching them warm up you can start seeing who actually really wants to go to the lead. All the homework you do, whatever, but then you go and warm up and start watching the horses warm up and you get an idea of who really wants to go to the lead.”

A patient Velazquez held Fierceness in a comfortable fourth in the three-path into the backstretch while Thorpedo Anna tracked along the inside just ahead in third and a headstrong Unmatched Wisdom tugged at Irad Ortiz, Jr. following the run of the filly. Batten Down reached the half-mile in 48.10 and three-quarters in 1:11.62 before Luis Saez and Dornoch crept closer to be within a half-length of the leader.

Dornoch briefly stuck his head in front rounding the turn with Fierceness menacing in the three-path, making it three across the track with little room for Thorpedo Anna to forge ahead from fourth and causing Brian Hernandez, Jr. to swing his charge wide around her rivals as Batten Down threw in the towel along the inside.

A loaded Fierceness quickly dispatched the threat of Dornoch to come away with the advantage as the field straightened for home, but Thorpedo Anna hit the clear and took dead aim at her foe as Sierra Leone commenced his signature move from well off the pace under Flavien Prat.

“I had to make a little premature move because I had Dornoch and saw that he was already riding at the five-sixteenths pole,” Velazquez explained. “I was like, if I get it now, try to keep the filly behind me and stuck behind him, it would be great. After watching the race, the filly actually followed me out when I tried to get Dornoch out of the way. The only thing that he did was he kind of waited at the eighth pole. I had to get after him when the filly started coming. I went left-handed and he responded right away. I was very proud of him because when it was time to fight, he put in a really good fight.”

In a stretch drive for the ages, Velazquez implored his charge for more and the Champion responded, willing himself to stay in command with the “Grizzly Bear” Thorpedo Anna gaining with every stride and Sierra Leone making up ground belatedly in the center of the course. The Saratoga grandstand shook with cheers and applause as the filly drew closer, but a resolute Fierceness would not be denied and held on for the narrow win, completing the course in a final time of 2:01.79.

Sierra Leone finished third 1 3/4 lengths back with Dornoch rounding out the superfecta. Batten Down, Corporate Power, Unmatched Wisdom and Honor Marie, who trailed throughout, completed the order of finish.

Pletcher, whose other Travers wins came with the Velazquez-piloted Flower Alley in 2005 and with the aforementioned Stay Thirsty, said he left race tactics in the capable hands of Velazquez.

“With Johnny, we don’t really give instructions. We just talk about possible scenarios of how the race might unfold and kind of what everyone is thinking,” Pletcher explained. “We had the benefit of a good outside post, and we felt like there were a couple of horses that would show some speed. You can always have your own strategy, but you don’t know what everyone else is going to do.”

For Velazquez, the veteran rider said he was able to plan his approach based on how his rivals behaved in the preliminaries.

“I saw the filly – he [Hernandez, Jr.] kept her really wide, and wasn't doing very much with her, so I knew he was going to try and settle behind horses,” Velazquez recalled. “Luis was warming up his horse and I knew he was trying to go. I saw Junior do the same thing which I was a little surprised. I knew he had some speed; I just didn't think he was going to force his way there. We out broke him last time. So, once I saw that and obviously three jumps out of there we knew that Junior was trying to go, Luis was trying to go and the filly kind of settled right behind, so I ended up in the perfect position for me to give him a chance where I am not in his mouth and just keep him going forward where he was comfortable.”

Patience, both in the Travers and the path to get there, was key to Fierceness’ successful return to top form after a puzzling 15th-place finish as the favorite in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May. The talented colt was briefly considered for the local Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 8, but was given extra time to prepare for the Grade 1 Haskell on July 20. Though he was entered in the Haskell, he scratched in favor of the Jim Dandy, a move that ultimately rewarded his connections handsomely.

“I really think the key to the success in the Jim Dandy and Travers was when we all made the decision to pass the Belmont,” Pletcher explained. “For whatever reason the Derby was really hard on him. We shipped him from Churchill to Saratoga a few days after and by the time I had traveled back, and checked him for the Belmont and got up here, when I first saw him I was like, the horse didn’t look like he did before the Derby, he’d lost weight.

“So, I talked to Mike a little bit about it and said let’s see how he does the next couple of weeks,” Pletcher continued. “We worked him one time and he just wasn’t himself, so we made the decision to pass the Belmont, and I think that is why we were successful in the Jim Dandy and the Travers.”

The Travers is the third Grade 1 conquest for Fierceness, adding to wins in the Florida Derby in March and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year as part of his Eclipse Award-winning campaign. While his Travers victory came with a margin that measures a fraction of his 13 1/2-length romp in the Florida Derby, the “Mid-Summer Derby” now stands as the centerpiece of a sublime sophomore campaign that includes another tenacious victory by one length over Sierra Leone in the Jim Dandy, as well as a hard-luck third in the Grade 3 Holy Bull in February at Gulfstream Park.

Pletcher added Fierceness is likely to train up to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

Fierceness banked $687,500 in victory while improving his lifetime record to 8-5-0-1. Sent to post at odds of 7-2, he returned $9.80 on a $2 win ticket.

Thorpedo Anna faced the farthest test of her career after three consecutive nine-furlong Grade 1 coups in the Kentucky Oaks, DK Horse Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks, all with Hernandez, Jr. at the helm. McPeek said he was pleased with the trip the filly got in her historic bid.

"We wanted her to leave there clean, which she did. She really didn't have an excuse, but Brian felt like the winner got a little jump on him when they turned the corner and couldn't quite get there. She gallops out in front - they don't pay us for that, right,” McPeek said, with a laugh.

McPeek added the daughter of Fast Anna is likely to return to her own division in the Grade 1 Cotillion in September at Parx Racing next, with an eye to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar.

"She will most assuredly go to Parx if everything's OK. She's got four weeks to go to Parx,” said McPeek. “I see her Distaff, I don't see her Classic. I see the Cotillion as a no brainer, and then the Distaff is more than likely. I don't see her going against the colts."

As for the beaten favorite Sierra Leone, who also finished second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont Stakes, Prat said the Chad Brown trainee had no obvious excuses.

“We had a good trip,” Prat said. “Turning for home, we had every chance and just couldn't go by those two horses."

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with the annual New York Showcase Day card, featuring six stakes worth a combined $1.25 million. First post on the 11-race all New York-bred program is 1:10. p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

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