Pletcher's Kentucky Derby hopefuls go beyond Fierceness

Delray Beach, Fla.

Here we go again.

Owner Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher are preparing another 2-year-old champion, another impressive Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner, for the Kentucky Derby.

Last year, of course, it was Forte. Now, it is Fierceness. But there is one huge difference.

Forte needed significant time to recover from the Juvenile, his fifth start, while the Juvenile marked only the third race for Fierceness. No time was lost in getting him to Palm Beach Downs and putting him in light training as the connections quickly targeted the Grade 3 Holy Bull on Saturday at Gulfstream Park as the first of two planned Derby preps.

“He just had three starts, so he’s a fresh horse. Physically, he’s in perfect health,” Pletcher noted. “I kind of liked the idea of not having to let him down and keeping him somewhat fit. We like the spacing of the Holy Bull to the Florida Derby (March 30) to the Kentucky Derby (May 4).

“Last year, Forte needed a bit of time after the Breeders’ Cup, and that kind of forced our hand a bit. He wasn’t ready until the Fountain of Youth (G2), then he had to run back in four weeks to the Florida Derby. Ideally, he would have been ready sooner so we would have had more spacing to the Florida Derby. But we didn’t have that option.”

Forte swept the Fountain of Youth and the Florida Derby and arrived in Louisville as a solid Derby favorite. But he seemingly paid a steep price for the tight timeframe when state veterinarians ordered him to be scratched with a bruised right front hoof on the morning of the race.

Fierceness made a spectacular Aug. 25 debut at Saratoga. He threw in a perplexing clunker in finishing seventh in the Oct. 7 Champagne before rebounding with an authoritative 6 1/4-length romp in the Juvenile. The City of Light colt appears to have the demeanor to withstand the grind ahead.

“He’s a very cool customer. He’s very laid back, truly a push-button kind of horse to train,” Pletcher said. “He’ll go nice and easy if you want him to. He’ll put in a bullet 59 and change like he did the other morning if you need him to do that. It’s a pleasure to have a horse with that kind of mentality.”

Fierceness signaled his readiness for the Holy Bull by producing a bullet work Jan. 20 at Palm Beach Downs. His clocking of 59.48 seconds for five furlongs was the fastest of 12 workers at the distance.

Pletcher provided Horse Racing Nation with a glimpse at his other Derby hopefuls.

Born Noble. St. Elias Stable and West Point Thoroughbreds went to $725,000 for this handsome son of Constitution at Keeneland’s September yearling sale. He looked the part when he captured his debut by 5 1/2 lengths while going seven furlongs on Dec. 30 at Gulfstream Park. But it must be noted that he lugged in during the stretch run and would have to grow up in a hurry to make the Derby.

Khanate. The son of Hightail finished third in the Jan. 6 Jerome at Aqueduct and will keep to the New York program of prep races by competing in Sunday's Withers (G3) on behalf of Calumet Farm. His only race at Churchill Downs was a poor effort. He finished sixth in an allowance optional claimer there on Nov. 9. Pletcher: “He’s shown hints of talent, but he needs to make a step forward.”

Locked. Don’t go to sleep on this talented son of Gun Runner, winner of the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. He is set to make his 3-year-old debut in the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. In a sense, Fierceness owes his Eclipse Award to his stablemate. Locked is so highly regarded that the decision was made to send Fierceness on to the Juvenile after he worked well in company with Locked, who wound up third in the Juvenile. Pletcher: “That Breeders’ Cup weekend, it was very difficult to close from off the pace. The kickback was pretty severe, and he got shuffled farther back than we hoped. I like the way he finished. He was gaining ground on Muth, who is a very, very good colt. We just ran out of time. He was a stride or two from getting up for second.”

Moonlight. This Audible colt broke his maiden at second asking and he did it in style, rolling by eight lengths at the end of September at Belmont at the Big A. He is targeting the Feb. 17 Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds. Pletcher: We were pleased with his maiden race. He caught a couple of off tracks after that and didn’t seem he relished them.”

Turn up the Trees. A son of Liam’s Map owned by St. Elias Stable, he was severely tested in his Jan. 13 debut and showed ample grit in taking the six-furlong contest by a half-length at Gulfstream Park. The idea is not to throw too much at him too soon, so an allowance race likely is next. If that goes well, look for him to make an all-or-nothing bid to reach the Derby in the final round of major preps. Pletcher: “We were very pleased with his debut, and we were impressed by the way he trained leading up to that. Hopefully, he’s one that continues to move forward, and I think distance will help him.”

Tuscan Sky. After going unraced at 2, this gray son of Vino Rosso showed he might be worth waiting for. He controlled his Jan. 13 debut by 5 1/4 lengths while coasting through six furlongs at Aqueduct. Spendthrift Farm purchased him as a yearling for $200,000. Pletcher: “Another promising colt. We’ll be looking for an allowance race for him.”