Brilliant or baffling, that was the question.
Fierceness continued his trend of victory following defeat by stalking the pace, taking the lead past the three-eighths pole and holding off Sierra Leone by a length in the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
Jim Dandy Stakes Recap: Fierceness and John Velazquez Deliver a Memorable Performance
Once again, the talent of Fierceness was on display as Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez guided the 3-year-old colt to a solid win but with his smallest margin of victory.
“Super pleased. He kind of got the trip we were hoping for,” trainer Todd Pletcher after extending his record to eight Jim Dandy wins. “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 running 15th in the Kentucky Derby (G1) as the 3-1 favorite, Fierceness did not in the Preakness (G1), was held out of the Belmont Stakes (G1) and was scratched from last week’s Haskell Stakes (G1) in favor of the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy.
The rest paid off as Fierceness, the 2-year-old champion and 13½-length winner of the Florida Derby (G1) prior to the Kentucky Derby, returned $5.60 for a $2 win bet as the second betting choice.
Race Recap: Sierra Leone Shines in Strong Finish
Sierra Leone, third in the Belmont and second in the Derby in his last two starts, ran a strong race under Flavien Prat, and did not waver in the stretch as he had in the past (although he was bumped by Batten Down) and closed well for second, 5 ¾ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Batten Down.
Preakness winner Seize the Grey was fourth, followed by Gould’s Gold and early pace-setter Pony Express.
Fierceness broke well and led early but allowed maiden-winner Pony Express to set the pace with an opening quarter mile in 23.80 seconds.
“Once he broke well, I was really happy with the way he was going,” Velazquez said. “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.
“I expected Sierra Leone to come out, so I went out. I just let him do it. 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.”
Winning time was 1:49.15.
As for the Travers Stakes (G1) — the Mid-Summer Derby – Pletcher he’ll “play it by ear.”
Chad Brown, who trains Sierra Leone (second in the Derby, third in the Belmont), said: “I thought he ran great. I don’t have any excuses. The track was playing very fair for his running style. 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.”
The one-length winning margin was the shortest in Fierceness’ four victories – he won at first asking by 11 ¼ lengths, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) by 6 ¼ lengths and the Florida Derby by 13 ½ lengths.
Nakatomi wins first graded stakes, the Alfred G. Vanderbilt
Finally, a graded stakes win for 5-year-old Nakatomi, and a Grade 1 at that.
Nakatomi ended an 0-for-10 in graded stakes losing streak by overtaking Skelly inside the sixteenth pole for a 1 ½-length victory in the $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes (G1).
Trained by Wesley Ward, Nakatomi finished third in the Golden Shaheen (G1) in Dubai last out in March. He also ran third in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).
“He’s really coming into his own. He’s a lightly raced 5-year-old. We only run him a few times a year as I try to give my horses winters off and this guy is a really special horse to be around,” Ward said.
Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Nakatomi ($9.30) covered the 6 furlongs in
1:09.97. Twisted Ride, the 34-1 longest price on the board, finished third.
“This win feels amazing, I am just so thrilled for this horse. He tries so hard every time,” Gaffalione said. “We have just been a little bit unlucky in the past, but he finally got his Grade 1 today.”
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
