Mike Repole and Rick Pitino’s horses fail to succeed at the Belmont Stakes

Saratoga Springs Recap: Fierceness Falls Short

In Saratoga Springs, Micrepre made his way down from the clubhouse VIP area, chatting with jockey John Velásquez just after the eighth race on Saturday.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who supports St. John’s basketball, chose not to enter the winner’s circle this time. It simply wasn’t meant to be.

His horse, Fierceness, known for winning the 2024 Travers Stakes at this iconic track, placed second in a $1 million Grade 1 Metropolitan handicap, falling short against California’s Raging Torrent.

The 8-1 longshot, Raging Torrent, secured a place in the upcoming Breeders’ Cup dirt mile, leaving Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher to pick up the pieces of their hopes.

“Honestly, if you told me he’d catch up to the finish line, I might have believed you,” Repole mentioned. “You know how it goes. We anticipated Raging Torrent would take the lead. He came on strong. We were right behind him at the 3/8 pole, even at the quarter pole—I thought we had a chance. But then I just…lost sight of it.”

Repole added, “It was really a tough loss, no excuses here.”

On the other hand, jockey Frankie Dettori praised Raging Torrent’s performance. “When we reached the quarter pole, I felt confident. The horse showed incredible determination up to the line,” he said, reflecting on the race.

Fierceness, the favorite for the race, faced immediate trouble upon breaking from the Wilson chute, which leads directly into the turn.

“Johnny [Velazquez] said he broke sharply but hit the gate hard and even had blood in his mouth afterward,” Pletcher explained. “They were scrambling to find a good position, but he finally found where we wanted him.”

Looking ahead, Repole mentioned a potential target for Fierceness might be the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney Stakes in Saratoga scheduled for August 2.

In another race that day, AP Kid, under Pletcher’s training and with Velázquez riding, surged ahead to win by five lengths, to the delight of Repole and his group of roughly 80 family and friends.

Interestingly, Repole wasn’t the only connection to St. John’s Racing involved on Belmont Stakes day. Coach Rick Pitino’s horse finished fourth in its race, although Pitino wasn’t present. In a text to reporters, he remarked, “That’s horse racing.”