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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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Union Rags’ Power Squeeze Upsets the Gulfstream Park Oaks

The streaking Power Squeeze (Union Rags) punched her ticket to the GI Kentucky Oaks while upsetting heavily favored 'TDN Rising Star' Ways and Means (Practical Joke) in Saturday's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks.

The Cash Run S. Jan. 1 and Suncoast S. Feb. 10 heroine, off at odds of 11-1 while looking for her fourth straight victory here, stayed out of trouble on the inside while Ways and Means, making her first start since a second-place finish in Saratoga's GI Spinaway S., was bounced around in between rivals and shuffled back on the clubhouse turn.

Traveling nicely in an inside fourth down the backstretch, Power Squeeze was in no hurry as Ways and Means slingshotted her way near the front with a flashy move on the outside beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. Ways and Means poked her head in front at the top of the stretch and looked well on her way as she kicked for home. Power Squeeze, however, was just getting going. She set her sights on Ways and Means in the stretch and rolled right on by to get the money.

The Gulfstream Park Oaks was worth a total of 200 qualifying points to the top five finishers for the Kentucky Oaks.

“We always thought very highly of her. We never felt like she was [11-1]. We felt like she was 1-1,” winning trainer Jorge Delgado said. “We felt like we had a really good chance. We believed in the filly, and she responded for us.”

He added, “I believe the stretch at Churchill is going to be really good for her. Hopefully everything comes back in order and we're going to plan a trip to go there.”

As for the runner-up, trainer Chad Brown said, “[Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.] said the first turn cost him. It got tight in there, he was bounced around a bit, and he got wide. And then when she saw daylight, she kind of pulled herself up to the front, a little premature move. He said he didn't really want to do that. She ran really well. I think without the layoff, she probably could have encountered some trouble like that and still had enough to go, but she had a lot to do today. And then when you add the trouble in the first turn and the wide trip and all, it maybe took just enough out of her to get caught by the wire.”

Pedigree Notes:

Power Squeeze, a $50,000 KEESEP yearling and $90,000 OBSAPR juvenile, becomes the 16th graded winner for Union Rags. The winner's three-time, stakes-winning dam Callmethesqueeze, a $50,000 purchase by Athens Woods at the 2022 KEENOV sale, is also responsible for a 2-year-old filly by Street Sense and a yearling colt by Liam's Map. She was bred to Vino Rosso for 2024.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
GULFSTREAM PARK OAKS PRESENTED BY FANDUEL TV-GII, $250,000, Gulfstream, 3-30, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.19, ft.
1–POWER SQUEEZE, 122, f, 3, by Union Rags
                1st Dam: Callmethesqueeze (MSW, $324,499),
                                by Awesome Again
                2nd Dam: Mop Squeezer, by Roanoke
                3rd Dam: Honey League Girl, by Honey Jay
   1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($50,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $90,000
2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Lea Farms, LLC; B-Forging Oaks LLC (KY);
T-Jorge Delgado; J-Daniel Centeno. $148,800. Lifetime Record:
6-4-1-0, $337,450. *1/2 to Call On Mischief (Into Mischief),
SW, $283,237. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ways and Means, 122, f, 3, Practical Joke–Strong Incentive,
by Warrior's Reward. O/B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown. $48,000.
3–Into Champagne, 122, f, 3, Into Mischief–Bedford Land, by
Speightstown. ($300,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Six Column
Stables, LLC, Randall Bloch, Jim Gladden, Mike Davis & Michael
Steele; B-Robert & Lawana Low (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes. $24,000.
Margins: 1, 5 3/4, 1. Odds: 11.00, 0.50, 8.20.
Also Ran: Gun Song, Scalable, Do Gooder, America's Vow, Fiona's Magic, Neom City. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Constitution’s Mindframe Romps in ‘TDN Rising Star’ Debut

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables' Mindframe (Constitution), sent off the even-money favorite in his debut, more than lived up to the hype, earning 'TDN Rising Star' status with a 13 3/4-length romping victory Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The dark bay colt was hustled from the gate and just off the leader in the early strides before settling back off the pace behind fractions of :21.92 and :44.44. When Irad Ortiz said go, he made eye-catching progress to grab the lead out of the turn and stormed home an unchallenged winner. Ortiz won three of the first five races on Saturday's Florida Derby card in Hallandale.

“We were anticipating a big debut,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “I thought that was something special there. He trained outstanding coming into the race. He's been doing everything right. Everything has come very easily for him. I wasn't sure if he was fit enough until his last gate work. It surprised me. He hasn't had much of a body of work leading into it, so much of this is on natural talent.”

Mindframe, a $600,000 Keeneland September purchase, was one of 31 yearlings purchased at that 2022 auction by Mike Repole's Repole Stable and Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stables.

Walk of Stars, a half-sister to multiple stakes-winner and multiple graded-placed Strike the Moon (Malibu Moon), has a 2-year-old colt by Maclean's Music. She was bred to Jack Christopher last year.

5th-Gulfstream, $74,340, Msw, 3-30, 3yo, 7f, 1:21.72, ft, 13 3/4 lengths.
MINDFRAME, c, 3, by Constitution
                1st Dam: Walk of Stars (SW, $154,944), by Street Sense
                2nd Dam: Star Kell, by Star de Naskra
                3rd Dam: Special Kell, by Parfaitement
$600,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $42,000. O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC; B-R. Larry Johnson (MD); T-Todd A. Pletcher. *1/2 to Hollywood Walk (Animal Kingdom), SP, $224,031.  Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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Juddmonte Juggernaut! Laurel River Wins Dubai World Cup By An Imposing Margin

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — When the late Arrogate overcame a world of trouble to win the 2017 G1 Dubai World Cup, many racing fans said it was the best performance in the history of the race. To some, it rates right up there with some of the best performances ever seen.

It's entirely possible that Juddmonte's Laurel River (Into Mischief) managed to upstage him Saturday with an absolutely stunning, front-running tour-de-force in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan, a result that even those closest to him may not have anticipated.

Winner of the 2022 GII Pat O'Brien S.–where a horse called Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) was third–Laurel River was somewhat controversially withdrawn from that year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, a race for which he was likely to be favored. Sidelined for a spell, Juddmonte elected to transfer their homebred from Bob Baffert to the Dubai-based stable of leading trainer Bhupat Seemar in the summer of 2023.

To say things were off to an inauspicious beginning in the Emirates would be an understatement of monumental proportions. Laurel River faded tamely to finish seventh in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint on local debut in late January, but as disappointing as that effort was, he bounced back to post an equally emphatic 6 3/4-length victory in the G3 Burj Nahaar on Super Saturday to punch his ticket to World Cup night.

Conventional wisdom dictates that winning the Burj Nahaar leads to a start in the G2 Godolphin Mile over the same course and distance on the big night, but Seemar and the Juddmonte braintrust called an audible and routed the six-year-old to the G1 Dubai World Cup instead: a race 12 times as valuable, but incrementally more challenging on a few levels, not least the 2000-metre distance of the race. Additionally, the Godolphin Mile was likely to attract the speedy Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and defending champion Isolate (Mark Valeski), and opting for the World Cup would eliminate the possibility of a suicidal pace duel.

“I feel like the 10 furlongs is a stretch for him, but that is a speed-favoring track and he might be the lone speed,” Juddmonte's Garrett O'Rourke told the TDN when World Cup plans were confirmed Mar. 7.

After drawing 12 of 12 at Wednesday's barrier draw at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa, many would have further downgraded the chances of Laurel River, reasoning that a horse already questionable to see out the trip would have to go hard–perhaps too hard–in order to secure the front. After all, another speedball–Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn})–had similar misfortune at the draw last year and dropped away to finish well down the field.

But there would be no such repeat Saturday evening, as Laurel River decisively surged into a clear lead with a half-mile to travel and went on to score by 8 1/2 lengths, the largest margin of victory in a World Cup at Meydan.

“I'm still coming to terms with what's happened,” Seemar said. “I think it'll probably sink in in another day or two. It's absolutely amazing. [Jockey] Tadhg [O'Shea] said this morning 'we're drawn 12, I'm not going to be two-minded about it, I'm going to go forward.'”

And go forward he did, sliding over to lead three off the inside with a circuit to travel as he had Military Law (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Dura Erede (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) for early company. As they turned towards the backstretch, Defunded (Dialed In) circled up so as not to sit wide the trip, and the two of them controlled the pace through the middle stages.

They put the better part of a half-dozen lengths on Dura Erede and the rail-skimming international favorite Kabirkhan (California Chrome) rounding the turn, and by the time Laurel River passed the 600-meter pole, it was really all over but the shouting. Showing no signs of stopping as he hit the top of the lane, Laurel River opened up by perhaps as many as 10 lengths  and jogged it in from there.

Senor Buscador got first run on defending champion Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), but was run down on the wire for second while adding another $1.2 million to his $10-million grab in the G1 Saudi Cup Feb. 24.

“He brings it every time, he ran a really good race,” said trainer Todd Fincher. “He might have started his run a little early trying to catch Laurel River and maybe that cost us a placing. Hats off to Laurel River, he freaked on everybody there.”

Of the winner, Seemar added, “”He's got so much natural pace. He comes out of the gate and this is why we ran him over six furlongs [in the Al Shindagha].

“Tadhg was able to get some easy fractions and then I saw Defunded coming on his outside but he just kept on going further. I expected to see all the closers flying at him but he kept going.”

For the better part of two decades, O'Shea has pounded the pavement on the Emirates Racing Authority, and he was basking in the afterglow of his Saturday achievements. He also guided Tuz (Oxbow) to an open-lengths success in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, his second in three years after missing by a nostril with defending champion Switzerland in 2023.

“I've been fortunate enough to have had Dubai World Cup night winners but you don't get many opportunities and I'm going to be forever grateful to Juddmonte for keeping me on the horse, they could use anyone and they're a worldwide operation that's really successful,” said O'Shea.

“When he had his first run for the stable, we thought he'd disappointed, but we never lost faith. He was explosive last time and I said the other morning to Bhupat, I pulled him aside and said I'd never ridden a horse with his ability ever. And he'd just done an easy work on his own.

“With the dirt you can't be half-hearted, you have to go forward. If he didn't stay, he didn't stay. We were aware of that. The main thing that won the race, it's easy to say when you win, but I was able to keep filling him up and filling him up.”

Kabirkhan sat a good inside trip, but failed to go on in the lane and finished eighth, beaten over 18 lengths.

“He was beaten a long way out,” commented his jockey Pat Dobbs. “I knew leaving the back straight he wasn't the same horse as before.”

Of the remaining Americans, Newgate (Into Mischief), Crupi (Curlin) and Clapton (Brethren) finished a distant eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

Pedigree Notes:

Laurel River is the 20th Grade I winner for Into Mischief and is bred on the same cross over Empire Maker responsible for 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun, while other top-level winners from Fappiano-line mares include champion Covfeve, Gina Romantica, Doppelganger and Atone. Additional stakes winners by Into Mischief out of Empire Maker dams include Grade III scorers Occult and Center Aisle and Juddmonte's late Taraz.

On paper, Laurel River is bred to stay the mile and quarter and perhaps further, as his first two dams are by Belmont S. winners. Juddmonte purchased Laurel River's second dam Soothing Touch for $550,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, and while she didn't work out as a racemare, she's excelled in the breeding shed.

The mare is the dam of six winners from 10 to race, including her first foal Emollient (Empire Maker), victorious in the 2013 GI Central Bank Ashland S. and the Juddmonte-sponsored GI Spinster, and her four winners as a broodmare include G2 Prix de Malleret winner Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and French listed winner Ardent (Frankel {GB}).  Soothing Touch has also accounted for Hofburg (Tapit), a stakes winner and third in the GI Belmont S; and stakes winner Courtier (Tapit).

The second foal from Soothing Touch, Laurel River has a 2-year-old half-sister by Constitution, a yearling half-brother by that son of Tapit and produced a full-sister to Laurel River four days after his victory in the Burj Nahaar.

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
DUBAI WORLD CUP SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE-G1, AED12,000,000, Meydan, 3-30, 3yo/up, 10f, 2:02.31, fs.
1–LAUREL RIVER, 126, h, 6, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Calm Water, by Empire Maker
                2nd Dam: Soothing Touch, by Touch Gold
                3rd Dam: Glia, by A.P. Indy
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc
(KY); T-Bhupat Seemar; J-Tadhg O'Shea. $6,960,000. Lifetime
Record: GSW-US, 10-6-1-0-1, $7,470,676. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ushba Tesoro (Jpn), 126, h, 7, Orfevre (Jpn)–Millefeui Attach
(Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). (¥25,000,000 Wlg '17
JRHAJUL). O-Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co Ltd; B-Chiyoda Farm
Shizunai (JPN); T-Noboru Takagi. $2,400,000.
3–Senor Buscador, 126, h, 6, Mineshaft–Rose's Desert, by
Desert God. O-Sharaf Mohammed Al Hariri & Joe R Peacock Jr;
B-Joe Peacock Sr & Joe Peacock Jr (KY); T-Todd W Fincher.
$1,200,000.
Margins: 8HF, NK, 4 3/4.
Also Ran: Wilson Tesoro (Jpn), Dura Erede (Jpn), Derma Sotogake (Jpn), Defunded, Kabirkhan, Newgate, Crupi, Clapton, Military Law (GB). Click for the ERA chart & video.

 

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