Fierceness

Fierceness is yet to string together back-to-back victories, but appears the most prepared in his career to do so after showing good energy to battle back and win the Jim Dandy with a smart stalking trip engineered by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said he is hopeful Fierceness has outgrown his propensity for the hot and cold cycle, which includes a lukewarm third in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream in his February seasonal bow.

“I hope he’s getting tired of it. That’s what I need. I need him to step up,” Pletcher said. “I think the Holy Bull is a little overly criticized. If you don’t count that one as a bad effort... I don’t have a great explanation other than most of his races he hasn’t gotten off to a good start, so hopefully he will get a clean start here.”

This year, Fierceness boasts a tremendous 13 1/2-length trouncing of the Grade 1 Florida Derby, notching a field-best 110 Beyer for the wire-to-wire tour de force in March at Gulfstream Park. The win was his first since taking down the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 6 1/4 lengths at odds of 16-1 in November at Santa Anita Park, an effort that – along with a strong debut maiden romp last August here – propelled him to Champion honors as the nation’s leading juvenile.

While Fierceness fell flat when running 15th as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, he rebounded well into the Jim Dandy and ultimately reassert himself as one of the nation’s leading sophomores, a development the two-time Travers-winning Pletcher said is more than welcome.

“His appetite has been great. He looks good. So, hopefully we have another good week,” Pletcher said. “It is a high quality field as you’d expect. It adds some intrigue with the filly [Thorpedo Anna]. It seems extra special, so it is an exciting race.”