Fierceness vindicated himself after a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 3, when he struggled to get away from the gate. There was no such obstacle in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby. Fierceness and jockey John Velazquez broke from post 8 in the nine-horse field, ran to the lead in the first turn, and remained in front the rest of the way.
"We weren't committed to being on the lead, we were committed to being forward and trying to get a good position in the first turn," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "Turns out he made the lead and got into a good rhythm and kept going."
Asked how relieved he was to see Fierceness break cleanly, Pletcher replied: "Very. I've been worried about that for eight weeks."
Fierceness did not have to work hard for the lead. He seemed to cruise while setting easy fractions of :24.06, :47.50, 1:11.31, and 1:35.63. He maintained a 1 1/2 length lead ahead of Catalytic and Grand Mo the First turning for home. Then, the colt appeared to hit another gear. He crossed the line in a hand ride in 1:48.22 and paid $4.20 to win.
"When he broke, I was very confident in what he was doing," Velazquez said. "I was expecting this out of him. I was just thinking, he can't be lying to me, the way he works. He showed up today and did it today."
The Florida Derby victory extended records for Pletcher, who won his eighth, and Velazquez, who won his sixth.
Catalytic finished second by 2 1/2 lengths and earned 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Grand Mo the First was third, earning 25 points. Hades, who defeated Fierceness in their previous matchup in the Holy Bull Stakes, was under a ride early while behind horses and finished fifth as a non-factor in the race.
The Florida Derby win was the second straight for Pletcher and owner Repole Stables, who took last year's race with 2022 champion 2-year-old male in Forte, co-owned by St. Elias Stables.
"It's surreal. I don't know what to tell you," Mike Repole said after Fierceness' performance. "It's not normal to do it once, (but) twice in back-to-back years to win this race and go in with the Kentucky Derby favorite? As you guys know from the past, a lot can happen from now to post time, but we saw something pretty special today."
"From a talent perspective, he has it all," Pletcher said. "Then, like everyone else, you have to hope you get a good post and a good trip, that (the horse likes) Churchill Downs, and all those things." -- By Charlie McCarthy
2024 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa March 30th, 2024
