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Fierceness shows heart of a Champion in G2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun

by Mary Eddy

In a late stretch battle between two Grade 1-winners, reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Fierceness turned back the bid of Sierra Leone to score a redemptive triumph in Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun, a nine-furlong route for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who notched a record-extending eighth Jim Dandy win, Repole Stables’ Kentucky homebred Fierceness had been away from the races since finishing off-the-board as the mutuel favorite in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs. Brilliant in his four lifetime victories, Fierceness was equally puzzling in his three career losses, but dismissed any doubts Saturday when showing a new dimension to dig in deep and prevail by one length for his second win of the year.

"Super pleased. He kind of got the trip we were hoping for,” said Pletcher. “We knew what our strategy was, the thing is you don't know what everyone is else is going to do. It looked like there were a couple of other horses with potential speed, so we had to break, get to the first turn in good position and get in a good rhythm, and that is what we were able to do."

After the Kentucky Derby, Pletcher initially had Fierceness preparing for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 8 here, but elected to skip that race in favor of giving the colt more conditioning.

"He tucked up a bit after the Derby and shipping in, we felt confident that we needed to regroup and then it was just a matter of deciding between the Haskell and the Jim Dandy,” said Pletcher.

Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez again provided his expert services from the outermost post 6 in a strong field that included Grade 1 Preakness-winner Seize the Grey, Grade 1 Blue Grass victor and Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone, and budding star and last-out Grade 3 Ohio Derby-winner Batten Down.

Fierceness broke sharply and bested his rivals to the front, but was unhurried by Velazquez to the first turn and conceded the lead to maiden-winner Pony Express, who bounded through an opening quarter-mile in 23.80 seconds over the fast footing with Batten Down racing in the two-path in third.

"Once he broke well, I was really happy with the way he was going,” Velazquez explained. “I didn't want to be in his mouth either, so I put a little pressure on his mouth to start but by the time we got to the half-mile pole, I just let him get into a good rhythm. He was going pretty easy.”

Sierra Leone demonstrated his usual off-the-pace tactics when trailing in last-of-6 down the backstretch behind Seize the Grey as Pony Express reached the half-mile in 47.44 and Velazquez calculated his next move. The field reached the turn and Velazquez reached his decision, stepping on the gas and letting Fierceness range up outside of Pony Express to easily take charge with three-quarters elapsed in 1:11.27.

While Fierceness kept to task and attempted to wrap up the race at the top of the lane, Sierra Leone crept closer with every stride and was unleashed by Flavien Prat to make his run in search of a trip to the winner’s circle for the first time since the Blue Grass.

The son of Gun Runner, who angled in with clear room to take up inside position from the retreating Pony Express, had previously demonstrated a tendency to drift inward in the stretch in his last two starts. However, it was Sierra Leone who was the victim of a bump this time by the all-out Batten Down, who veered in under Junior Alvarado near the eighth pole.

Nevertheless, a brave Sierra Leone settled in along the rail to continue his quest to beat a freewheeling Fierceness, who had drifted out to the center of the course, but corrected near the sixteenth marker when shown a right-handed crop.

Velazquez explained he made the choice to bring Fierceness far out in the course.

"I expected Sierra Leone to come out, so I went out. I just let him do it,” said Velazquez, who won a record fifth Jim Dandy. “I wanted to get him out there, and when I looked, the other horse came inside so I came back in a little bit just to make sure he saw him. I had horse left. He is incredible. This was just incredible."

Sierra Leone did all he could to persevere over Fierceness, but the heart of a Champion would not be denied and Fierceness crossed the wire first in a final time of 1:49.15. Batten Down stayed on for show honors 5 1/4 lengths ahead of Seize the Grey with Gould’s Gold, who was never involved, and Pony Express completing the order of finish.

The Jim Dandy is the traditional major local prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKing Travers on August 24, which this year will see a filly attempt to win the “Mid-Summer Derby” for the first time since Lady Rotha in 1915 as multiple Grade 1-winner Thorpedo Anna was declared for the race this afternoon by trainer Kenny McPeek.

Pletcher said a decision on Fierceness’ Travers aspirations will be made at a later time.

"We kind of talked about this horse seems to do better with a little bit of extra time in between races, so we won't make any decisions right away, but just play it by ear,” said Pletcher, who also won last year’s Jim Dandy with the Repole Stable co-owned Forte.

Sierra Leone finished second or third for the third consecutive time in a high profile sophomore route, adding to game efforts in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Chad Brown said he was pleased with the effort despite coming up just short again.

"I thought he ran great. I don't have any excuses. The track was playing very fair for his running style,” Brown said. “Fierceness came back into form and ran a terrific race. I thought he had every chance turning for home to get him - yes, we found ourselves on the inside of him, but Fierceness really found more today and ran a great race. I'm happy with my horse's performance. Yes, it's a race he came up just short again, but he did fire and it looked like he galloped out well. I'm looking forward to getting him back out to a mile and a quarter in the Travers, if he's healthy.”

Fierceness, a City of Light bay out of the Stay Thirsty mare Nonna Bella, received his Championship crown last year for a campaign that saw him graduate at first asking in his only previous outing at Saratoga before an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont at the Big A. He bounded back in style next out when annexing the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park in a 6 1/4-length romp. His first win as a sophomore would prove even greater, posting a sublime 13 1/2-length tour de force in the Grade 1 Florida Derby to earn his place in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.

The Jim Dandy marked the shortest margin of victory for Fierceness, his other wins coming by a combined 31 lengths. He returned $5.60 on a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green in Race 9. First post 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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