Fierceness the First Big Winner for City of Light

When Fierceness is good, he's very, very good. He dominated his debut in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course, where he won by 11 1/4 lengths, recording a 102 Equibase Speed Figure. His next victory came in his third start, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), which saw him lock down the champion 2-year-old male title with a 6 1/4-length tally over Muth—himself successful in this weekend's Arkansas Derby (G1)—a performance that earned a 110 Equibase figure. Most recently, Fierceness established himself as almost certain favorite for the Kentucky Derby (G1) by demolishing the Florida Derby (G1) field March 30 by 13 1/2 lengths in a time reported as a race record, while notching another 110 Equibase figure. With three wins—two in grade 1 events—by a total of 31 lengths to his credit, one could be forgiven for believing that Fierceness was near invincible and a near certainty to follow Street Sense and Nyquist as only the third horse to capture both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby. Surprisingly, however, an element of uncertainty remains, because Fierceness's stunning victories have been punctuated by two defeats, both as odds-on favorite. The first saw him finish seventh of eight, 17 1/2 lengths behind the winner Timberlake, in the Champagne Stakes (G1) run over a sloppy track, where he broke badly, moved into contention, then faded. The second, in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) on his seasonal debut, saw another poor break, a wide trip, and an advance to the lead before another fade, this time to third. While there is no doubting Fierceness' talent, there is just enough of a question as to how he will handle the rough and tumble of a 20-horse field to engender hope in his potential rivals. Fierceness is from the second crop of City of Light, a son of Quality Road. A later developer, City of Light didn't make his first start until July of his 3-year-old season, but was an outstanding performer from the tail end of that year through to his only start at 5. Over that period, he won five of his seven starts from seven to nine furlongs, all graded, including the Malibu Stakes (G1), Triple Bend Stakes (G1), Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1). Retired to Lane's End Farm, Versailles, Ky., for the 2019 breeding season, City of Light was the "hype" horse of that year's intake. His first-crop yearlings averaged $325,075 off a $40,000 stud fee, a price that would rise to $60,000 for 2022, the year his first crop turned 2. That first crop didn't really fulfill expectations, with the UAE Oaks (G3) victress Mimi Kakushi the sole graded scorer from six black-type winners (although the multiple stakes winner Chop Chop missed by just a nose to champion 2-year-old female Wonder Wheel in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1)). Fierceness is the only stakes winner to date from City of Light's second crop. Fierceness is the only starter for his dam, Nonna Bella, a two-time winner by the Bernardini horse Stay Thirsty. She is a half sister to the talented but lightly raced Outwork, who won three of five starts, including, on his final outing, the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1). The second dam, Nonna Mia, took second in the Loudonville Stakes at Saratoga, and third in the Frizette Stakes (G1) and Tempted Stakes (G3). A daughter of Empire Maker, Nonna Mia is three-quarters sister to Cairo Prince, by Empire Maker's son Pioneerof the Nile. Cairo Prince won the Nashua Stakes (G2) at 2, the Holy Bull Stakes (G2) at 3 and was favorite for the Kentucky Derby (G1) when suffering a career-ending injury after the Holy Bull. Nonna Mia is out of the stakes-winning Holy Bull daughter Holy Bubbette, a half sister to graded stakes winner Sum Runner and grade 1-placed Ms Louisett, the granddam of Canadian Derby (G3) winner Great Escape. Holy Bubbette's granddam is Juliet, whose third dam is Now What, the champion 2-year-old female of 1939. She was out of That's That, a sister to the great racehorse Sarazen, champion 3-year-old male, champion older male, and twice Horse of the Year. Now What produced both the outstanding mare Next Move, successful in 12 stakes, including the Coaching Club American Oaks, and her half sister Sea-Change, only a minor winner but ancestress of such as Miesque, Kingmambo, East of the Moon, Study of Man, Karakontie (JPN), and Alpha Centauri. Like Fierceness, his sire and grandsire, City of Light and Quality Road, recorded exceptional performances at nine furlongs, but that was the absolute outer limit of their stamina. None of Fierceness' first three dams scored at further than seven furlongs, but their sires, Stay Thirsty, Empire Maker, and Holy Bull, were all grade 1 winners at 10 furlongs or more, and the impression is that Fierceness should not be troubled by the Derby distance. Fierceness and the Armed Forces Stakes winner Light of Broadway are the only two starters by City of Light out of mares by Stay Thirsty. The broader cross of Quality Road and sons of mares by Bernardini and sons have produced four stakes winners. They were all bred on the direct Quality Road/Bernardini cross, including Saudi Cup (G1) hero Emblem Road and Dunbar Road, whose successes included the 10-furlong Alabama Stakes (G1).