Fierceness takes over 2nd place in Breeders' Cup Classic rankings

After a powerful performance in winning Saturday’s Grade 1 Pacific Classic, 4-year-old Fierceness rose five spots to take over second place behind Sovereignty in the latest Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings.

 

The Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings are a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be run Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

 

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Fierceness overcame a poor start in the 1 1/4-mile Pacific Classic at Del Mar, where he finished second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. The son of City of Light took control of the race off the far turn and rolled to a 3 1/4-length victory over Preakness and Haskell Stakes winner Journalism.

 

Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes (G1) winner Sovereignty retained the overall lead in the rankings with 404 votes after the fifth week of voting.

 

Sierra Leone was in third place after his second-place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga following an incident at the start. Trained by Chad Brown, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner earned 326 votes.

 

Mindframe, who unseated his rider Irad Ortiz Jr. at the start of Jockey Club Gold Cup, was in fourth place with 273 votes for trainer Todd Pletcher.

 

Journalism dropped one position to fifth place with 224 votes for trainer Michael McCarthy.

 

Forever Young, who captured the Saudi Cup (G1), held onto sixth place with 184 votes for trainer Yoshito Yahagi. San Diego Handicap (G1) winner Nysos, who was scratched on the morning of the Pacific Classic, was in seventh place with 138 votes.

 

Joining the top 10 for the first time and tied for eighth place with Baeza was 4-year-old Antiquarian, winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Both Antiquarian and Baeza have 106 votes. Antiquarian becomes the third Todd Pletcher-trained horse voted in the top 10 this year.

 

Godolphin’s 5-year-old homebred Highland Falls, runner-up in the Whitney Stakes and third following the disqualification of Phileas Fogg in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, is in 10th place with 58 votes for trainer Brad Cox. 

 

The Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings are determined by a panel of Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders’ Cup racing directors-secretaries panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 7. A list of voting members can be found here.

 

In the Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order. The Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders’ Cup Classic.