Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 3:46 pm |
Back to: Shared News, Top News
Updated: August 21, 2025 at 4:41 pm
Fierceness (Inside) working with Locked at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew
‘TDN Rising Star’ Fierceness (City of Light) is among late nominees for Del Mar’s GI Pacific Classic Aug. 30. The 4-year-old is owned St. Elias Stables and Repole Stable, the latter also campaigns GI Stephen Foster winner Mindframe (Constitution). With the goal of keeping the two Repole runners separate until the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar in November, Mindframe is slated to contest the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga Aug. 31. The Pacific Classic is also a ‘Win & You’re In’ race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Trainer Todd Pletcher worked Fierceness last Saturday at Saratoga. He went four furlongs in :47.66 (3/135).
The champion juvenile colt of 2023, Fierceness won last year’s GI Florida Derby in addition to the GII Jim Dandy and GI Travers Stakes. Second to Sierra Leone in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, he returned this year to win the GII Alysheba at Churchill Downs. Most recently, he was runner-up in the GI Met Mile in June and fourth last out in the GI Whitney earlier this month.
In other Pacific Classic news, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Nysos (Nyquist) worked Thursday at Del Mar, just five days since his last workout. He went five furlongs in :58.80 (3/31).
“He went very well,” Baffert noted, adding that he may give Nysos one more breeze before the race. “He’ll probably go something easy next week. So far so good.”
Winner of the GIII Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar last season, the Baoma Corp. runner won this year’s GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes in addition to the GIII Triple Bend and GII San Diego Stakes July 26. He was a neck second to Mindframe in the GI Churchill Downs Stakes in May.
In related news, this year’s Pacific Classic card will be the richest day of racing ever (outside of the Breeders’ Cup) at the seaside oval. The purses for the 11-race program add up to $2,374,000, over $100,000 more than the previous record set on Pacific Classic Day in 2023.
“The 10% purse increase going into this summer,” racing secretary David Jerkens gives as one of the reasons for the increase. “We also increased our Maiden Dirt Bonus inflating some purses to $100,000 and we have a couple of maiden races that day.”
The purses for the five stakes races on the Pacific Classic undercard remain the same as last year. The GII Del Mar Handicap and the GII Del Mar Mile are each worth $300,000. The GIII Green Flash and the GII Torrey Pines each have purses of $150,000.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.