16-1 shot Fierceness wins Breeders' Cup Juvenile for trainer Todd Pletcher

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Fierceness won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 6 1/4 lengths at Santa Anita on Friday, giving trainer Todd Pletcher the early favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby.

Pletcher and owner-breeder Mike Repole won the Juvenile last year with Forte. The colt came into the Kentucky Derby on a five-race winning streak and was the morning-line favorite only to be scratched hours before the race because of a bruise in his right front foot.

Pletcher earned his 15th Cup victory, while John Velazquez notched his 20th, second all-time among jockeys.

Fierceness ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.90 and paid $35 to win at 16-1 odds.

Muth, trained by Bob Baffert, was second. Locked, the 2-1 favorite also trained by Pletcher, was third.

Five of the seven horses that were scratched from Cup races Friday were for veterinary reasons, while the other two were by order of the stewards.

Racing resumes Saturday with nine Cup races, including the $6 million Classic.

Two potential contenders died in the days leading up to the two-day world championships. Geaux Rocket Ride was injured in a workout and didn't recover after having surgery. Practical Move collapsed after a gallop in what Cup officials said was a “suspected cardiac event.”

Big Evs kicked off the day's five races for 2-year-olds with a half-length victory over Valiant Force in the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Starlust took third as European runners swept the first three places in the five-furlong dash. The winning time was 55:31 seconds.

Big Evs paid $8.40 to win as the 3-1 second choice. The colt improved to 4 for 6 as the first North American starter for both trainer Michael Appleby and jockey Tom Marquand.

Just F Y I extended her unbeaten streak to three with a 7-1 win in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his 13th Cup win.

Tamara, the 4-5 favorite, grabbed the early lead but soon had company as Just F Y I, breaking from the outside post in the 12 horse field, quickly took up the chase. The relentless pressure paid off as Tamara faded at the top of the stretch, finishing seventh. Just F Y I and jockey Junior Alvarado were all out to hold off Jody’s Pride by a neck at the wire with Candied third.

Just F Y I paid $16 to win. The time was 1:44.58 for the 1 1/16 miles.

Trainer Chad Brown continued his dominance of the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf with his sixth win in the race as 9-1 shot Hard to Justify dug in for a half-length victory over Ireland-bred Porta Fortuna.

It was Brown’s 17th Cup win, and it came with a filly making only her third start while facing a strong field sprinkled with more experienced European runners.

Flavien Prat positioned Hard to Justify into a stalking trip, sitting right behind the pacesetting Dreamfyre. Hard to Justify surged past the tiring leader at the top of the stretch and held on for her third straight win. She ran a mile in 1:34.42. The daughter of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify paid $20.20 to win.

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AP freelancer Mike Farrell contributed to this report.

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