Fierceness dominates the field to score record-breaking victory at Florida Derby

Todd Pletcher has won the Florida Derby eight times, the most of any trainer.

But none of his other Derby winners turned in the type of jaw-dropping, mind-boggling performance that Fierceness did Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

For that matter, none of the race’s 72 previous winners did, either.

Fierceness didn’t just defeat his eight rivals in the $1 million stakes for 3-year-olds taking aim on the Kentucky Derby in May, he annihilated them, romping to an ever-widening 13 ½-length victory – the largest winning margin in race history.

“That was a pretty awesome performance,” Pletcher said. “Pretty dominating. Pretty powerful.”

Was it ever.

Jockey John Velazquez never used his whip, took a brief look under his shoulder in late stretch to make sure victory was in hand, and then guided the colt past the finish in an authoritative victory that should propel the horse to Churchill Downs for the May 4 Kentucky Derby as one of the top contenders, if not the favorite.

“It was pretty easy,” Velazquez said.

Said winning owner Mike Repole: “It’s surreal.”

Pletcher and Repole teamed up to win last year’s Florida Derby with Forte, who continued on to become the favorite for the Kentucky Derby. But he was scratched the morning of the race due to mild limb inflammation, bringing heartbreak.

“As you know from the past, a lot can happen from now to post time (for the Kentucky Derby),” Repole said. “But we saw something pretty special today.”

Fierceness has taken Pletcher and Repole on a roller-coaster ride. He won his first race by 11 lengths at Saratoga in August, then lost the Champagne Stakes by 20. He followed that trouncing with a statement victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November, earning him the title of champion 2-year-old of 2023.

But in his very first race of 2024, the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream on Feb. 3, he flopped again, finishing third as the 1-5 favorite.

“He’s three times brilliant and two times has had off days,” Pletcher said. “That’s why it was so perplexing his two races that he didn’t run brilliantly.”

Bettors weren’t fooled by the colt’s dull effort in the Holy Bull and sent him off Saturday as the even-money favorite. And the colt didn’t disappoint.

Fierceness broke quickly from the gate in the 1 1/8-mile stakes, at which point Velazquez positioned him on the lead.

“He broke well today and I just let him have it,” Velazquez said of the frontrunning position. “I let them come and get him, and he dominated the whole race. At the quarter pole, I gave him a little smooch and he picked it up right away.”

The rest of the field was no match.

Holy Bull winner Hades was fifth. The talented Conquest Warrior checked in fourth.

Catalytic finished second, but was a distant second, 2 ½ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Grand Mo the First.

The 13 1/2 -length victory easily surpassed the previous record Florida Derby margin of 9 ¾ lengths, set by Empire Maker in 2003.

“Nothing was going to beat the winner,” said Catalytic’s trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr.

Said Catalytic’s jockey, Julien Leparoux: “We ran against a monster today.”

Pletcher said he will enjoy Saturday’s victory before making plans to send Fierceness to Kentucky.

“From a talent perspective, he has it all,” Pletcher said. “As a horse trainer, you’re never confident until they cross the wire. But it looked like when he turned for home with a lot of energy, I was just enjoying watching him go down the lane, and thinking, Johnny, save me a little something for five weeks.”