2023: two-year-old season

Fierceness made his debut on August 25 in a maiden special weight event over a distance of six furlongs at Saratoga. Fierceness from post six in a field of ten was coaxed to the lead in the first quarter-mile. On the sealed muddy track he shook off his competition, extending his lead before being geared down by jockey Jose Ortiz to win by an impressive margin of 11+1⁄4 lengths in a time 1:09.56.^[4]

After his commanding win, connections entered Fierceness for his next start in the Grade I Champagne Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. On October 7 in a field of eight, Fierceness started as the overwhelming 11-20 odds-on favorite.^[5] At the start of the race Fierceness lunged out of the gate off balancing his jockey Jose Ortiz. From there on Fierceness was bumped and jostled working his way to third place with a quarter-mile A check-up after the evnt revealed nothing amiss with Fierceness, so trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole decided to consider the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The horse trained at Keeneland in company with other stablemates and were shipped to Santa Anita Park for the Breeders' Cup on October 28.^[6]

In a field of nine starters for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Fierceness was overlooked in the betting starting at odds of 16/1. A change of jockeys was made as John Velazquez took over the reins and Fierceness started well with him on the outside of leader General Partner who had finished second in the Champagne Stakes in his previous start,^[7] through fractions of :23.25, :47.02, and 1:10.86, Fierceness kicked into gear on the second turn and through the stretch. He opened up a two-length lead ahead of a rallying Muth an eighth of a mile before the finish and continued to extend the margin to a 6+1⁄4 lengths victory in a fast time of 1:41.90.^[3] "I don't think too many people would have run him other than Todd and I," Repole said. "And so we said, let's see how he trains and he's got to sell us on the idea of running, and he did come back with two really good works," Pletcher said. "So we took a shot, and today it worked out; a beautiful trip, and he showed what he's all about."^[3]

Fierceness is poised to be named champion two-year-old male during an Eclipse Award ceremony in late January 2024. Fierceness will likely become the early favorite for the 2024 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He earned 30 qualifying points toward the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby, leaving him in first place on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.^[3]