Hours after their Kentucky Derby (G1) contender Grande was scratched, the connections found themselves in the winner’s circle on Friday after Fierceness won the $750,000 Alysheba Stakes (G2) on the Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs.
Owned by Mike Repole, trained by Todd Pletcher, and ridden by John Velazquez, Fierceness returned to his winning ways with a 1 ½-length win over Most Wanted in record-setting time. In the morning, Grande was scratched out of Saturday’s Derby due to a cracked heel.
Making his 4-year-old debut after running second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in November, Fierceness redeemed himself at Churchill Downs a year after he ran 15th as the Derby favorite.
The winning time 1:40.06 for 1 1/16 miles over a fast main track broke the record of 1:41.04 set by Successful Dan in the 2012 Alysheba.
“Wow! A track record at Churchill Downs, that’s a really big deal,’’ said Pletcher. “We’ve got lots of options with him right now, but I’d have to think the Met Mile [on the Belmont Stakes undercard June 7] is on the top of the current list.”
Early on, Most Wanted and This Is Uscar dueled on the front, with Fierceness third in the field of six. Fierceness [$3.88 for a $2 win bet] made his move on the far turn, drew even at the top of the stretch, moved to the lead, and cruised to the victory.
Fierceness is back in style! He kicks off his 4-year-old campaign with a win in the G2 Alysheba. 🏇
He is trained by Todd Pletcher with @ljlmvel in the irons! 🤩
🎥TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/V9unb4Aijx
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) May 2, 2025
“It was a perfect trip,’’ said Velazquez. “There was a little bit of speed in there. I wanted them to hop out of there well, and he went to the first turn, not being too aggressive. When I put him in the clear on the backstretch, he just really got into the bit and kept taking off.”
Fierceness improved to 10-6-1-1 with earnings of more than $4.3 million. Repole co-owns Fierceness with Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, and Mrs. John Magnier.
Hall of Fame was third, followed by Pletcher-trained Locked, This Is Uscar, and Katonah.
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