Fierceness defeats Thorpedo Anna in Travers Stakes at the wire

There was no shortage of storylines heading into this year’s Travers Stakes. The top 3-year-old thoroughbreds in the country made sure the Mid-Summer Derby lived up to the hype.

Fierceness cruised down the homestretch of the Saratoga Race Course with jockey John Velazquez in a battle down to the wire with Thorpedo Anna and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. in front of 47,844 fans. 

The colt did just enough to hold off filly to win the 155th running of the Travers Stakes by just a neck on Saturday afternoon. It denied Thorpedo Anna the chance to become the first filly in more than a century to win the Mid-Summer Derby. 

“He kind of waited at the eighth pole. I had to get after him when the filly started coming. I went left-handed and he responded right away,” Velazquez said. “I was very proud of him because when it was time to fight, he put in a really good fight.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher says passing on the Belmont Stakes after finishing 15th in the Kentucky Derby and focusing on the Jim Dandy Stakes, which Fierceness won just last month, was the key to building up to this success.

“He doesn’t give you negative signs. But he had never given me so many positive signs leading into this race,” Pletcher said. “The way he was eating, his energy level, the way he was galloping, his breezes were super, and they were. He didn’t easily talk, but just everything that he was doing was giving me confidence to run him back in four weeks.”

This victory was a third Travers win for Pletcher and Velazquez. The pair last won the Mid-Summer Derby together in 2005 with Flower Alley. For owner Mike Repole, it’s his second Travers Stakes win. 

“Look at a lot of the horses that ran the Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont. Where are they right now,” Repole asked. “You know that patience is paying off. And listen this is the best three-year-old in the country right now.”

Thorpedo Anna entered the $1.25 million Travers Stakes as the top three-year-old filly in the country with wins in the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn Stakes, and Coaching Club American Oaks. Despite finishing second by a few inches, she picked up plenty of compliments after the 10-furlong race. 

“I told Johnny I jumped on board at the 16th pole. I was rooting pretty hard,” Pletcher said. “You got to give the filly a ton of credit. That’s an amazing effort by her. She’s special.”

“She is a really, really special horse,” Repole said. “And to run against these boys the way she did, it’s amazing. And if it was just the seven Colts, this was a great race. You add the filly on top of it, and it turned out to be such a great race. I can’t wait to watch it again and again and again.”

Next up is for Fierceness, according to Pletcher, is to train for the Breeders Cup classic at Del Mar this fall.

Sierra Leone, the favorite, finished third. Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch finished fourth. The all-sources wagering handle was $63,023,405 which is a new Travers Day record.