SARATOGA SPRINGS — He’s back, in the big picture.
Whether Fierceness comes back in the Travers at Saratoga Race Course remains to be seen.
The 2023 Eclipse Award winner for 2-year-old males got to the winner’s circle for the first time since March when he fended off Sierra Leone in a thrilling finish to the Grade II Jim Dandy on Saturday.
Fierceness needed that one, to remain a contender for a 3-year-old male championship.
“I think he’s right back in the mix, with the Florida Derby and the Jim Dandy [victories],” owner Mike Repole said in the winner’s circle after the race. “This was a very impressive effort, especially against a track that was not so speed-favoring.”
“Yesterday, he showed he can run with the best of them and has the fight in him,” trainer Todd Pletcher said on Sunday morning. “I was happy to see it.”
It’s logical to assume that running Fierceness back in the Travers would be a no-brainer, but it’s more complicated than that.
Repole owns 50% of Mindframe, the runner-up in the Belmont and Haskell, and one reason Fierceness went to the Jim Dandy instead of the Haskell was to keep the horses in separate races.
Repole also suggested on Saturday that perhaps Fierceness performs better when his races are spaced out.
Besides the Travers, the other big route stakes race restricted to 3-year-olds on the horizon is the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Sept. 21.
“Right now, we just want to give it a few days and see how he comes out of it,” Pletcher said of Fierceness’ Travers status. “So far, he looks good this morning, so we’ll play it by ear. As much as we want to always keep them separate, if it comes up where we feel it’s the right thing for each horse, then we’ll let them sort it out on the track.”
Fierceness earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure, and Sierra Leone got a 102.
Trainer Chad Brown said on Saturday he intends to run Sierra Leone in the Travers, which is also expected to draw Dornoch, the presumptive division leader off his wins in the Belmont and Haskell.
Trainer Bill Mott said Jim Dandy third-place finisher Batten Down “absolutely” will point toward the Travers.
“I’ll put it this way, we are surely going to nominate him,” Mott said.
MORE ‘THORPEDO’
Upon announcing on Saturday that superfilly Thorpedo Anna would run against males in the Travers instead of the Alabama, trainer Kenny McPeek pointed out that the move could actually bolster the Alabama field.
Sure enough, Mike Repole was holding court in the Saratoga winner’s circle after Fierceness won the Jim Dandy, and the subject of Thorpedo Anna in the Travers prompted him to say, “Maybe I’ll try to win the Alabama with Scalable, who just won the Monmouth Oaks.”
An hour and a half before the Jim Dandy, Scalable won the Grade III Monmouth Oaks at Monmouth Park.
Whether Scalable actually runs in the Alabama or not, Repole applauded the decision by the Thorpedo Anna camp to send their filly to the Travers.
“I think it’s great,” Repole said. “I had the same decision a couple years ago with Nest, tried her in the Belmont and she came in second, and she was going really, really well.
“Nothing wrong with taking a shot. They’re looking at Horse of the Year, so it’s a smart move.”
Pletcher and Repole ran the filly Nest against males in the 2022 Belmont Stakes, and she was a solid second to stablemate Mo Donegal, then swept the Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama and Beldame to clinch an Eclipse Award for 3-year-old fillies.
COURSE RECORD FOR SILVER KNOTT
Jockey Kendrick Carmouche is not a man a few words.
But one was all it took to describe Silver Knott’s performance in the Grade II Bowling Green on Sunday.
“Monster,” he muttered, as he walked off the track after having finished fourth behind Silver Knott on Ohana Honor.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Silver Knott posted a 2:11.03 to win the Blowing Green and break the course record for a mile and three-eighths on the inner turf course. White Rose held the previous record of 2:11.46, set in 2015 in the Glens Falls.
While comfortably in command of the race on the front end, Silver Knott may not have been in position to break the record if not for Soldier Rising and Strong Tide still well within striking range in midstretch.
“I looked at the screen [infield videoboard], and they were still behind me, so I was a bit confused,” Prat said. “I thought I was opening up on the field, but after that I opened up again.
“He got pestered on the lead, and it was a course record, so I think that shows that it was a pretty good performance,” said Alex Merriam, assistant to trainer Charlie Appleby.
It’s a measure of Appleby’s powerhouse Godolphin contingent at Saratoga that Merriam said that Silver Knott would likely skip the Grade I Sword Dancer later in the meet and wait for the Grade I Joe Hirsch at Aqueduct.
They have Grade I Manhattan winner Measured Time lined up for the Sword Dancer, with Silver Knott in reserve if Measured Time doesn’t make the race for some reason.
On Sunday, Silver Knott, who has won three straight graded stakes this season, got to the lead right away and held his rivals at bay all the way to wire, with a little boost in the stretch.
“There was not much pace in the race,” Prat said. “I thought he was the best horse, and I didn’t want to get trapped in a slow race and have it turn into a sprint.”
AROUND THE TRACKS
The sprinter The Chosen Vron keeps on rolling.
He won the Grade I Bing Crosby at Del Mar for the second year in a row on Saturday, running his record to 5-for-5 in 2024 and 19-for-24 for his career.
The only loss in his last 15 starts since September of 2022 was a fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November. …
Also at Del Mar, Arabian Knight finished fourth to Dr. Venkman in the Grade II San Diego as the 2-5 betting favorite.
It was Arabian Knight’s first start since a fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.