Moments after Fierceness defeated Thorpedo Anna by a head in Saturday’s Travers Stakes, Kenny McPeek congratulated Mike Repole with a warm embrace inside the Saratoga winners’ circle.
Leading by three decisive lengths in the deep stretch, Fierceness’ margin shrunk as the filly closed valiantly with a determined rally. Fierceness, however, staved off the Kentucky Oaks champion at the wire to cap the summer as the nation’s top 3-year old, at least in in Repole’s estimation.
“I said, ‘Do me a favor: Your filly ran great. Please, please keep her with the fillies,’” Repole told reporters in the Travers' post-race press conference. “She is a really special horse. To run against the boys the way she did, it is amazing.”
It appears that McPeek has heeded Repole’s advice. Before McPeek left the winner’s circle, he outlined a roadmap for the remainder of Thorpedo Anna’s season. McPeek will likely enter her in the Grade I Cotillion next month at Parx. If all goes well, Thorpedo Anna will end her 3-year old campaign in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, McPeek told The Action Network.
A Near Miss
Had Thorpedo Anna prevailed on Saturday, she would have completed a rare feat. In the 155 editions of the Travers, only four fillies have captured the prestigious race.
Thorpedo Anna attempted to become the first filly to defeat the boys since Lady Rotha in 1915. In the successive 109 years, only a handful of fillies have even entered the signature race of the Saratoga meet.
If any filly could end the streak, Thorpedo Anna appeared to possess the talent. She entered the Travers undefeated on the year, notching Grade I victories in the Kentucky Oaks, the Acorn and the Coaching Club American Oaks. A 3-year old filly out of the Uncle Mo dam Sataves, Thorpedo Anna won all three races by at least four lengths.
She also served as the sentimental choice for a packed crowd of 47,844 at the Spa. The New York Racing Association marked the occasion by handing out pink posters of the super filly to fans entering the gates. When a picnic area across from the paddock opened at 9 a.m., an elderly man taped his poster to a tree adjacent to his lawn chair. As they turned for home, Fierceness jockey John Velazquez got a jump on Thorpedo Anna counterpart Brian Hernandez Jr., who was forced to lug out three-wide to steer past some traffic.
A contingent of more than a dozen of Thorpedo's entourage gathered in the winner's circle, most clad in pink. Their hopes appeared shattered when Fierceness took a commanding lead at the eighth pole. But the filly gained on Fierceness with each stride, setting up a pulsating finish. In the end, Fierceness prevailed by a head, producing one of the most enthralling Travers in the last decade.
"I think everything went to plan except that one horse was in her way," McPeek said. "She’s so special. I'm just really proud of her."
Since 2000, 14 of the 25 runnings of the Travers have been won in 2:02.00 or slower. In fact, any victory under 2:01 in the 10-furlong classic is generally considered to be extremely fast. When Keen Ice upset Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers, he won in 2:01.57. Fierceness finished less than three-tenths of a second behind that pace. Stay Thirsty, Fierceness' grandsire, captured the 2011 Travers in 2:03.03.
Fierceness, last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion, is out of Nonna Bella, a Stay Thirsty mare. The win by Stay Thirsty 13 years ago gave Repole his first Midsummer Derby victory as an owner. Repole and Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Fierceness, also worked together in 2011 for Stay Thirty's victory.
"In 2007, I bought the granddam Nonna Mia, and Stay Thirsty won the Travers,” said Repole after Fierceness' win. "It’s just so special. It’s a special race and a special day."
Fierceness' winning time is also faster than ones delivered by Arcangelo, Essential Quality, Street Sense and Birdstone, each of whom preceded victories in the Travers by winning a Triple Crown race.
"In most years, she probably would have won," McPeek said of Thorpedo Anna.
Rounding Into Form
With a resounding 6 1/2-length win in last year's BC Juvenile, Fierceness staked his claim as the early Kentucky Derby favorite. But he suffered through an inconsistent opening half to 2024, finishing third in the Holy Bull in his 3-year old debut.
Fierceness rebounded with a dominant 13 1/2-length victory in the Florida Derby before finishing a disappointing 15th in the Kentucky Derby. In that race, he tracked sharp fractions, trailing by only a half-length through six furlongs before fading down the stretch.
The uncharacteristic performance sent Pletcher searching for answers. For some reason, the Derby took a toll on Fierceness, Pletcher admitted on Saturday evening. The trainer considered entering him in the Belmont Stakes, but Fierceness lost weight after the first jewel of the Triple Crown. Instead, Repole and Pletcher opted to rest him until last month's Jim Dandy, where Fierceness outlasted a game Sierra Leone, who finished third in the Travers.
"We made the decision to pass the Belmont, and I think that is why we were successful in the Jim Dandy and the Travers," Pletcher said.
Since 1961, Saratoga officials have painted the winning colors of the Travers winner on a canoe that resides in the infield pond. Pletcher took part in a Saratoga tradition on Sunday by navigating through the pond to celebrate the victory.
Unfortunately, early this morning an overjoyed elderly man jumped into the Travers Canoe and paddled his way to Lake George.
I am offering a $1mm reward for anyone who can identify him AND arrest him[!!
😂 😂 🤣-Commissioner Mike pic.twitter.com/znaQQVIACx
— Repole Stable (@RepoleStable) August 25, 2024
Fierceness entered the Travers ranked No. 4 in the Breeders' Cup Classic rankings behind Dornoch, the winner of the Belmont and the Haskell. Dornoch trailed Fiercenss by a head at the quarter pole before fading to fourth in the Travers.
Pletcher expects to train Fierceness up to the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. Unfortunately for race fans, the first matchup between Fierceness and Thorpedo Anna may have been the last. McPeek practically ruled out the Classic for his filly even if she triumphs in the Cotillion.
Despite the crushing defeat, McPeek maintained his sense of humor in the winner's circle on Saturday. Citing a line from 2006 comedy Talladega Nights, McPeek channeled his inner Ricky Bobby.
"My old saying is from Ricky Bobby," McPeek said with a grin. "If you ain't first, you're last."
