Fierceness will miss Pegasus, Pletcher says

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Fierceness, the champion 2-year-old male of 2023 and a contender for 3-year-old divisional honors in 2024, will start his 4-year-old campaign in the spring and thus will not be considered for the $3 million Pegasus at Gulfstream Park or a Middle East trip this winter, his connections said Sunday.

Fierceness, while being turned out for a 60-day period in Kentucky following his game runner-up performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 2, underwent an elective surgical procedure on a hind ankle, trainer Todd Pletcher said.

“As we normally do after the Breeders’ Cup we sent the horse to Kentucky and gave him a complete physical," Pletcher said. "After consulting with several veterinarians, we decided to do an elective procedure on a hind ankle. We expect to have him in the barn by February.”

Pletcher trains Fierceness for owner Mike Repole, who said that the three major targets for Fierceness in 2025 are the Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga in June, the Whitney, also at Saratoga, in August, and the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Fierceness would likely have a start before the Met Mile, Repole said.

This year, Fierceness won the Jim Dandy and Travers at Saratoga - beating Sierra Leone in both races as well as the top 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna in the Travers. In the $7 million Classic, Fierceness, after attending the strong early pace, was beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Sierra Leone.

“The ultimate goal will be to return to Del Mar and win that Breeders’ Cup Classic,” Repole said.

Fierceness won the Grade 1 Florida Derby by a record-setting 13 1/2 lengths in March, which helped send him off as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, in which he finished 15th. Following a freshening, which meant skipping the Belmont Stakes, Fierceness won 2 of 3 races, which has him in contention along with Sierra Leone for top honors in the 3-year-old male division. In the Kentucky Derby, Sierra Leone finished second.

Meanwhile, Repole and Pletcher said that Mindframe, the runner-up to Dornoch in the Belmont Stakes and the Haskell, is about a week from returning to Pletcher’s barn at Palm Beach Downs in Florida. Mindframe could be considered for a trip to Dubai on April 5 for the Dubai World Cup with a likely start in the U.S. beforehand.

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