Tag: John Velazquez

Fierceness Back on Top with Resounding Florida Derby Victory

Now that's much more like it.

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old colt 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), a head-scratching third after getting pinballed at the start in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3, put on an absolute show to win by daylight in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. It was a record-extending eighth Florida Derby win for Todd Pletcher and sixth for John Velazquez.

“That was a pretty awesome performance,” Pletcher said. “That's what we see in the mornings when we breeze him, a special talent. That's why it was so perplexing his two races that he didn't run brilliantly. He's three times brilliant and two times has had off days.”

Pletcher continued, “From a talent perspective, he has it all. Like everyone else in the Derby, you've got to hope you draw a good post, you get a good trip, and you like Churchill Downs–all those things.”

Winning owner/breeder Mike Repole added, “It's just special. I got 70 family members and they wanted it for me as much as I wanted it for them. It's just very special. I said before, we forget he's only had four races. He had a layoff. That was just really special. I told Todd if he wins by five or is beat by five, I wouldn't be surprised. How could you be?”

Ridden for speed by Velazquez from his outside draw in post eight, the Repole Stable homebred cleared the field rounding the clubhouse turn and the race was pretty much over from there. The bay got into a nice rhythm and clicked off fractions of :24.06 and :47.50. He began to shake free without being asked on the turn for home and dropped the hammer in the stretch to win by a record-setting 13 1/2 lengths. Catalytic (Catalina Cruiser) was second; Grand Mo the First (Uncle Mo) was third.

“We weren't committed to being on the lead,” Pletcher said. “We were committed to being forward and getting a good position on the first turn. We talked about we might be on the lead, we might be lying second, we might be lying third. But we just wanted to get away from the gate and get in a good position. It turns out he made the lead and got into a good rhythm, and just kept going. [I thought], 'If he does what he shows us in the mornings he can do, he's going to be pretty hard to beat from there.'”

Velazquez added, “It was pretty easy. This is what I expected last time out of him. He had been working lights out. He broke well today and I just let him have it. I let them come and get him, and he dominated the whole race. When he got to the backstretch and switched to the turn, he picked it up and so I let him do it. He was comfortable. Then at the quarter pole, I gave him a little smooch and he picked it up right away. It was pretty easy. This is why we're here. This is what we work for, for opportunities like this. It's exciting.”

Pedigree Notes:

Fierceness is one of two graded winners for young sire City of Light. Mike Repole paid $200,000 for the winner's second dam Nonna Mia–named in honor of his grandmother–at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and she was a gifted 2-year-old in her own right, winning her maiden by 12 lengths at second asking at Belmont Park before finishing third to stablemate Devil May Care (Malibu Moon) in the 2009 GI Frizette S. Nonna Mia, a close relative of MGSW sire Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile), was an immediate hit in the breeding shed, first producing the multiple stakes-placed Nonna's Boy (Distorted Humor) before a mating with Uncle Mo resulted in Outwork, the 2016 GI Wood Memorial S. hero. Nonna Bella, the third foal out of Nonna Mia, is a daughter of Repole's 2011 GI Travers S. hero Stay Thirsty (Bernardini). Nonna Bella produced a City of Light colt in 2022 and a filly by Caravaggio in 2023. She was bred to Uncle Mo for 2024.

Saturday, Gulfstream
CURLIN FLORIDA DERBY PRESENTED BY HILL 'N' DALE FARMS AT XALAPA-GI, $1,000,000, Gulfstream, 3-30, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:48.22, ft.
1–FIERCENESS, 122, c, 3, by City of Light
                1st Dam: Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty
                2nd Dam: Nonna Mia, by Empire Maker
                3rd Dam: Holy Bubbette, by Holy Bull
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Repole Stable, Inc. (KY); T-Todd A.
Pletcher; J-John R. Velazquez. $576,600. Lifetime Record:
Ch. 2-year-old, 5-3-0-1, $1,703,850. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catalytic, 122, c, 3, Catalina Cruiser–One Show Only, by
Distorted Humor. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE,
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($70,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $125,000 Ylg
'22 FTSAUG). O-Tami Bobo, Julie Davies and George G. Isaacs;
B-Fred W. Hertrich (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. $186,000.
3–Grand Mo the First, 122, c, 3, Uncle Mo–Lilies So Fair, by
Giant's Causeway. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($125,000 RNA Ylg '22
KEESEP; $135,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $335,000 RNA 2yo '23
OBSMAR). O-Granpollo Stable; B-John D. Gunther (KY);
T-Victor Barboza, Jr. $93,000.
Margins: 13HF, 2HF, NO. Odds: 1.10, 29.00, 21.50.
Also Ran: Conquest Warrior, Hades, Frankie's Empire, Iris's Dream, Real Macho, Le Dom Bro. Scratched: Bail Us Out, Seminole Chief.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Lauren Robson Saddles First Winner Thursday at Gulfstream

Trainer Lauren Robson saddled her first career winner Thursday, bringing a rather extensive resume with her into the Gulfstream Park winner's circle.

“I came over from England in 2004. I worked for various, really good trainers. I was an assistant for Jonathan Sheppard, Wesley Ward and Jerry Hollendorfer,” Robson said. “I galloped for Todd Pletcher. I rode many good horses for him. There were other good trainers I worked for also, like Richard Mandella.”

Robson saddled Jabran to a 3 1/2-length victory under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in Race 2, a five-furlong maiden claiming event for 3-year-olds on Tapeta.

“I'm really happy Johnny rode him. He's been a longtime friend, he and his wife Leona,” Robson said. “It's great to get the first one under my name.”

A tragic accident that left her husband, former jockey Rudy Delguidice, paralyzed led Robson into training a small stable at Gulfstream.

“I was in Ocala. We were breaking and training horses, and my husband had an accident and broke his neck in July 2022,” Robson recalled. “So, we came down here for him to do his rehab, and I thought to myself, 'Well, since I have these couple horses, I just may as well train them myself.'”

Following her first training success on her own, Robson doesn't aspire to build a large stable in the future.

“This is fun for me and my husband. He comes out in the morning to watch the horses train. It keeps him involved,” she said. “I'm hoping to get a few more, but I'm not looking to have too many. I'd like to be kind of small and be hands-on, get on my own horses and just do good with what I've got. I'd like young horses. I've learned from some good people. It makes me happy to get the best out of each individual.”

Robson owns Jabran, a son of Munnings, and co-owns British Empress, a 4-year-old maiden daughter of Classic Empire. Jabran was only Robson's 10 starter dating back to Sept. 30.

“When you only have two horses, it seemed to take a while,” Robson said. “I guess if you had 20 horses, it would be a week's worth of runners.”

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Oisin Murphy Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

Oisin Murphy, the British Champion Jockey in 2019, 2020 and 2021, decided to spend part of his winter riding at Gulfstream Park. He didn't come just for the sunshine. Murphy felt that experiencing something different, riding on the dirt and competing against one of the best riding colonies in the world, would further his career.

How has he done? Has the experience made him a better rider? Those were questions we asked Murphy when he joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast sponsored by Keeneland. Murphy was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

“On dirt, I always knew that if you get stopped at any stage, it can be race over for you,” Murphy said. “Watching those top riders riding on a daily basis has been great. And I've ridden for some top trainers while I've been here and I've enjoyed that. Hopefully, this week, I've got some chances to ride another winner or two. I just have a lot of admiration for the lads I've been riding against.”

Murphy has ridden five winners at the meet, not at all bad considering he came here with few connections and is riding every day against the likes of Irad Ortiz Jr., John Velazquez, Tyler Gaffalione and the rest. But he said he had hoped to do better.

Irish Jockey Oisin Murphy Joins the TDN Writers' Room from Thoroughbred Daily News on Vimeo.

“I'd like to have ridden a lot more winners,” he said. “I've tried. In fairness, I knew coming here that it wasn't going to be easy. I got some really good results on Saturday, which was fulfilling, and I felt like I rode well over the weekend. But, of course, I always want to do better. I knew coming here that the jockey colony was very strong. But I want to do better. If I get another chance to come here, I'd like to ride many more winners.”

Will he be back next year?

“I'll definitely aim to come back and do a similar stint,” Murphy said. “I know I'm not going to earn loads of money in the month of January here, but I think the connections I can develop here will serve me well in the future. Some of those top jockeys are going to retire in the next number of years, like to Johnny V. and Frankie Dettori. Those top dirt races like the Saudi Cup, Dubai World Cup, Breeders' Cup Classic are worth an awful lot of money. If I have enough experience on dirt, and can prove myself, hopefully I can put my hand on the phone and call a trainer or an owner and ask is your horse available in this race because I'd love to ride them?”

In the stallion spotlight segments, the podcast featured Coolmore's Tiz the Law (Constitution), who stands for a fee of $20,000. The focus was also on four-time Grade I winner Improbable (City Zip), who stands at WinStar for $15,000.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by WinStar Farm, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association,https://www.kentuckybred.org/https://www.nyrabets.com/ 1/ST Racing, the KTA & KTOB, West Point Thoroughbreds, https://www.winstarfarm.com/and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Bill Finley and Zoe Cadman gave their opinions on the fact that owners are not planning to transfer their 3-year-old stars out of the Bob Baffert barn even though that means they will not be eligible to run in the GI Kentucky Derby. The Derby could be missing some of the best horses in the division. They discussed a successful Pegasus World Cup Day at Gulfstream and looked ahead to a quartet of Derby preps set to be run this weekend, which include an appearance by 'TDN Rising Star' and 2-year-old champion Fierceness (City of Light) in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

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Champion Fierceness Breezes for Holy Bull

Repole Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), newly honored as 2023 champion 2-year-old, breezed at Palm Beach Downs Saturday morning in advance of next Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, he was timed in :49.55 (20/29) for a half-mile.

“I was very pleased. He had a serious work last week–fifty-nine-and-change [for five furlongs]. We were just looking for a maintenance work today,” Pletcher said.

Fierceness is coming off a 6 1/4-length romp in the Nov. 3 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

“Knock on wood. He's done everything super this winter. We're excited getting him going again,” Pletcher said.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who guided Fierceness to victory in the Juvenile, was aboard for Saturday's breeze.

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