HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - All of those so quick to jump off the Fierceness bandwagon following his disappointing third-place finish in the Grade 3 Holy Bull four weeks ago might have a hard time finding room to get back on after the reigning juvenile champion vindicated himself with a record-setting 13 3/4-length triumph in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.  Fierceness’ winning margin was the largest in the 73-year history of the Grade 1 Florida Derby, smashing the old mark of 9 3/4 lengths set by Empire Maker in 2003. His trainer, Todd Pletcher, also extended his own personal record by winning his eighth renewal of the event while jockey John Velazquez did likewise with his sixth Florida Derby victory. Fierceness came into the Florida Derby with two one-sided wins on his resume’, an 11 1/4-length victory in his career debut at Saratoga and a dominant 6 1/4-length tally in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita that sewed up divisional honors.  Those two eye-catching performances were sandwiched around a 20 1/4-length setback in the Grade 1 Champagne and followed earlier this month by his third-place finish as the 1-5 favorite in the Holy Bull. All of which had just about everyone, including even Pletcher to some degree, wondering which Fierceness would show up in the Florida Derby. It didn’t take long to find out. Breaking from post 8 following two earlier scratches that included stablemate Bail Us Out, Fierceness left the gate alertly and raced three wide with the leaders into the clubhouse turn before gaining a clear advantage turning up the backside. Fierceness rated kindly on the front end, posting splits of 24.06 seconds and 47.50 for the opening quarter and half-mile, then readily extended his advantage while still on hold approaching the stretch. At which point, for all intents and purposes, the issue was no longer in doubt. Velazquez roused Fierceness briefly upon settling into the stretch, the two quickly extending the lead after which the Hall of Fame rider geared the winner down approaching the wire, not wanting to empty the tank any more than necessary with the main goal waiting five weeks down the road in Louisville.         Catalytic, the least-experienced member of the field with only two previous starts and one victory on his resume’, raced forwardly placed from the outset and easily outlasted the others, finishing 2 1/2 lengths in front of Grand Mo the First, who held off a disappointing Conquest Warrior by a nose to finish third. Hades, undefeated in three starts after turning back Fierceness before edging away to a two-length victory over Domestic Product in the Holy Bull, was never a serious factor in the Florida Derby. Unable to make the lead under Paco Lopez, Hades dropped back to midpack during the early running and eventually to last after bearing out near the middle of the track on the second bend before passing tired horses to finish fifth.  Frankie’s Empire, Iris’s Dream, Real Macho, and Le Dom Bro rounded out the complete order of finish. Fierceness earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby with his Florida Derby victory, giving him 136 points, while runner-up Catalytic picked up 50 points, virtually assuring himself a spot in the Derby as well. Grand Mo the First earned 25 points that, along with the 15 he picked up for his third-place finish in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby, likely puts him on the bubble for Derby consideration. Fierceness also gave owner Mike Repole his second straight Florida Derby win, coming on the heels of Forte’s hard-fought and well-deserved tally here a year ago. Forte went on to Louisville as the Derby favorite until being scratched the morning of the race due to a minor foot bruise. Fierceness covered the1 1/8 miles over a fast track in 1:48.22 and paid $4.20. Fierceness earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 110. “That was a pretty awesome performance. That’s what we see in the mornings when we breeze him, a special talent,” Pletcher said. “That’s why it was so perplexing, his two races that he didn’t run brilliantly. He’s three times brilliant and two times had off days.” Pletcher said he still believes the trouble after the start in the Holy Bull contributed to Fierceness’ disappointing performance that day, but noted he saw an improvement in his horse in the eight weeks since that outing. “He put on some weight, he strengthened a little bit, he’s had a really good series of works, he was able to get into a better rhythm, we got a better trip today,” Pletcher said. “And he showed what he was capable of.” Once he saw Fierceness strike the front so readily on the first turn, Pletcher admitted his confidence level was pretty high.   “I thought at that point, if he does what he shows us in the morning he’s capable of doing, he’s going to be very hard to beat from there,” Pletcher acknowledged. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. saluted Fierceness’ performance while saying it will also likely be on to the Derby for Catalytic as well. “[Fierceness] is the closest thing to Uncle Mo that I’ve seen in a long time. We ran second, I’m proud of him,” Saffie Joseph said of Catalytic. “Our horse ran to the line.  He ran a really good second, nothing was going to beat the winner. He should improve a lot from this. We got five weeks to keep dreaming. If 50 points is enough to get him into the field, Catalytic will run in the Derby.” “Disappointing,” was trainer Joe Orseno’s initial reaction to Hades’s fifth-place finish. “He (Paco Lopez) said he didn’t break that sharp. When that happened, he got a little crowded. After it got a little crowded and getting a little dirt [in his face], he definitely didn’t run his race. He needed to be out there today, the track was fast and speed was holding. A sprinter ended up second.  We didn’t get a chance to get out there. We’ll have to regroup.” - Additional reporting by David Grening   :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.