Fierceness withstands late surge of Thorpedo Anna in Travers for the ages

Aug 24, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

In one of the most spine-tingling finishes in 155 years of Travers (G1) history, Fierceness just held off the fast-closing Thorpedo Anna at Saratoga.

The stretch run was a fitting crescendo to Saturday’s hotly-anticipated renewal. Thorpedo Anna, the Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner, was attempting to become the first filly in 109 years to win the Travers. The resolute head of Fierceness was all that stood between her and the record book.

Yet the victory by Fierceness has historic significance of his own. According to NYRA, Fierceness is the 11th champion two-year-old (since 1950) who went on to Travers glory at three. Only two others have done so in the past 33 years, Street Sense (2007) and Essential Quality (2021).

The beaten favorite in the May 4 Kentucky Derby (G1), where he wound up 15th, Fierceness has now reasserted himself by winning two straight at the Spa. He captured the local prep, the July 27 Jim Dandy (G2), over Derby near-misser Sierra Leone, and confirmed the form when Sierra Leone checked in third in the Travers.

Fierceness, a Repole Stable homebred trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, is a grandson of a past Travers winner for the same connections. His mother, Nonna Bella, is by Stay Thirsty, who landed the 2011 running for the Repole/Pletcher tandem. Stay Thirsty was long in the shadow of his stablemate, champion Uncle Mo; ironically, Uncle Mo is the maternal grandfather of Thorpedo Anna.

When the gate opened on the $1.25 million Travers, Thorpedo Anna was quickly into stride from her rail post. But longshot Batten Down was intent on taking the lead. Thorpedo Anna’s regular rider, Brian Hernandez Jr., let that rival go on and instead nestled the filly into a tracking spot just behind Batten Down.

Fierceness was better drawn on the outside in post 8, and that enabled Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez to work out an excellent stalking trip in the clear. Flanking Thorpedo Anna, Fierceness raced in fourth through the opening half-mile. Then the colt began to creep closer into third, as Velazquez sensed the pace slackening, and an opportunity to get the jump on Thorpedo Anna.

Just ahead of them in second was Dornoch, the Belmont (G1) and Haskell (G1) winner, who appeared to be perched in his ideal spot. But when Dornoch engaged Batten Down on the far turn, his bid proved short-lived.

Meanwhile, Fierceness was circling them both, and the champion swung into the stretch already with a daylight lead. Thorpedo Anna took off as soon as she had the opening to get off the fence and angle out.

The stage was set for a climactic finish. Although Fierceness held a two-length advantage in midstretch, Thorpedo Anna was in hot pursuit, Suspense grew as the gap between them narrowed with the filly’s every stride.

Just when it looked as though Thorpedo Anna’s momentum was about to propel her past, Fierceness dug deeper, reached for the wire, and held on. The son of City of Light covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.79 and improved his record to 8-5-0-1, $2,666,350.

THE CHAMP IS BACK! 🏆

FIERCENESS wins the 155th running of the Travers (GI) at #Saratoga

Jockey: @ljlmvel
Trainer: @PletcherRacing
Owner: @RepoleStable pic.twitter.com/2drFLnqFhZ

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) August 24, 2024

Fierceness paid $9.80 as the 3.90-1 third choice. Thorpedo Anna, the 3.40-1 second choice, was 1 3/4 lengths clear of Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone, the 1.75-1 favorite, sustained his fourth consecutive loss. Since just missing in the Kentucky Derby, Sierra Leone has finished third in the Belmont, second in the Jim Dandy, and third in the Travers.

There was a 6 1/2-length gap back to Dornoch in fourth. Batten Down, Corporate Power, Unmatched Wisdom, and Honor Marie rounded out the order of finish.

The Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna camps were rightly proud of their own horses and complimentary of each other.

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

“We just got nosed out,” said Thorpedo Anna’s trainer, Ken McPeek. “Fierceness ran a fantastic race. Todd and his team did a great job. It was a good horse race there.”

Velazquez explained how he masterminded the winning ride.

“I had to make a little premature move because I had Dornoch and saw that he was already riding at the five-sixteenths pole. I was like, if I get it now, try to keep the filly behind me and stuck behind him, it would be great,” Velazquez said. “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 (Fierceness) 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.”

Hernandez thought that Thorpedo Anna was going to get up in time.

“Turning for home, I was locked and loaded and I hopped out,” Hernandez said, “but Fierceness kind of got the jump on us. But you have to be proud of our filly to make a big run at him like she did. She came up just half a jump too late.

“As we turned for home I was like, ‘Oh, good, we’re still going to be able to run him down.’ But Fierceness dug back in, and he was just able to get the job done today.”

McPeek quipped about her striking the front after the wire.

“She gallops out in front – they don't pay us for that, right?

“Everything really went to plan other than one horse in her way,” McPeek said. “She's so special, and we're just really proud of her.”

Plans call for Thorpedo Anna to return to her own fillies’ division for the Sept. 21 Cotillion (G1) at Parx. Her Breeders’ Cup target remains the Distaff (G1), where she will meet older fillies and mares for the first time.

While Thorpedo Anna already had a lock on the Eclipse Award as champion three-year-old filly, Fierceness has put himself back in the picture for the three-year-old male title. His spectacular, 13 1/2-length conquest of the Florida Derby (G1), combined with the Jim Dandy/Travers double, arguably outweighs Dornoch’s wins in the Fountain of Youth (G2), Belmont, and Haskell.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) could be decisive for their respective claims. Both Fierceness and Dornoch will train up to the 1 1/4-mile affair at Del Mar, their first test against older horses. Fierceness, who clinched his Eclipse Award in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), will try to become the first to turn the Juvenile/Classic double.