Yes, it's purely hypothetical, but imagine a GI Breeders' Cup Classic without the rabbit, Contrary Thinking (Into Mischief). That's a race Fierceness (City of Light) probably would have won.Yes, he got free in the stretch and had every chance to run down Forever Young (Jpn) (Reel Steel {Jpn}) and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) but he couldn't get the job done, finishing third, losing by 1 1/2 lengths. But too much had gone wrong for him at that point, and he could not recover.Unlike what happened in the GI Pacific Classic, Fierceness broke sharply from the rail and didn't duck to the inside. During the first nine or ten strides, he actually had the lead, but John Velazquez had no choice but to take a hold of him when Contrary Thinking bolted for the front and took control. To have engaged that horse in a speed duel would have been suicidal. But without Contrary Thinking in the race, he likely would have been able to set the pace and do it comfortably. Instead, he settled into third while saving ground, just inside Forever Young.On Forever Young, jockey Ryusei Sakai rode a smart race. Just outside of Fierceness and just behind Contrary Thinking, he kept Fierceness penned in behind the hopeless rabbit. Contrary Thinking started to back up midway down the backstretch with Fierceness right behind him, causing the Todd Pletcher-trainee to get shuffled back to fourth. Velazquez decided to take matters into his own hands and tried to squeeze past Contrary Thinking on his outside, but the move caused him to steady briefly. That didn't make or break his race, but it certainly didn't help.Fierceness finally got a break when a hole opened up on the rail near the top of stretch, but his best punch was gone, understandable considering what he had already been through.“(Fierceness) was in a difficult position,” Pletcher said. “He's inside of the pacemaker, so you either have to commit to try to make the lead and have a pacemaker pushing you or try to settle into a spot. He settled into a comfortable spot. He seemed like he was handling it pretty well. Johnny said the Japanese horse was kind of pushing him around around the far turn. He finally, finally got clear when some horses went on the outside. He got a decent run at him. It wasn't an ideal scenario, but when we drew the one-hole we knew that it kind of handcuffed us a bit. That's just kind of the way it worked out.”Owner Mike Repole, who had complained all week, saying a horse like Contrary Thinking shouldn't have been allowed to run, was diplomatic after the defeat.“When Johnny went to make a move he had to get around the pacesetter,” he told Matt Chapman of Sky Sports. “But he also had Forever Young, who had really good position and was kind of leaning on him. It was a great ride on Forever Young. I think the ride and the Japanese horse had more to do with him getting beat than the pacemaker.”Even though the race worked out the way it did, Repole was wrong to complain about there being a rabbit in the race. It has been a part of the sport as long as there has been a sport and pacesetters are used all the time in major European races.…………..As usual, several of the Eclipse Award races are no-brainers. For instance, a horse like GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) should be a unanimous choice for the 2-year-old male championship. Some others aren't quite so clear, and the reason is that some people are obsessed with voting for European horses that come over, run once in the U.S. winning a Breeders' Cup race, and then head home.Gezora (left) defeating She Feels Pretty in the Filly & Mare Turf | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse SportswireThat's why GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Gezora (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}) could possibly beat out Filly & Mare Turf runner-up She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}). Voters will look at the one race where they went head to head and use that to make the argument that Gezora is more deserving. Some may also give her credit for her two group wins in France, in the GI Prix de Diana and the GII Prix St. Alary.Nonsense.The award is not about one race and what a horse accomplished outside of North American should have nothing to do with their Eclipse Award status. She Feels Pretty ran five times in North America and won three stakes, including the GI New York S. and the GI E.P. Taylor at Woodbine. And will some people vote for Forever Young for Horse of the Year over Sovereignty (Into Mischief), reasoning that he also won the GI Saudi Cup? I sure hope not.The problem is that there are no rules when it comes to the Eclipse Awards, which gives voters too wide a latitude. The way to solve the problem is to put in a rule that a horse has to race at least twice in North America to be eligible for an Eclipse Award. In Canada, for the Sovereign Awards, their version of the Eclipse Awards, a horse must run at least three times north of the border to be eligible for an award.…………..If the TDN ever wants to give rising star status to trainers, they can start with Jose D'Angelo. Still somewhat unknown outside of his main base, Florida, he's had a sensational year, topping it off with not one, but two Breeders' Cup winners. He won his first Breeders' Cup with Shisospicy (Mitole) in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. One race later, he won the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint with Bentornato (Valiant Minister).Only 35, D'Angelo was a leading trainer in Venezuela before coming to South Florida in 2019. He saddled his first winner when just 22, winning a race in 2012 at La Rinconada in his native country.He's won 126 races this year, winning at a 19% clip. He's won 12 stakes, including four Grade I events. It probably won't be long before he's recognized as a top trainer on the national scene.…………..What caused the stewards to scratch White Abarrio (Race Day) shortly before the running of the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile? Co-owner Mark Cornett doesn't have a clue.“There's nothing wrong with him,” Cornett said Sunday. “I have no idea why they scratched him. No one has told us why yet. This is unbelievably frustrating. We have a perfectly sound horse. I've been with this horse since September of his 2-year-old year and he's never missed a race, never missed a work, never missed a day of training. What a wonderful way to spend our Breeders' Cup day.”Cornett said White Abarrio will run next year at age seven and his first main goal of the 2026 season with be the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park.The post Week In Review: Did the Rabbit Cost Fierceness the Classic, and Other Observations on the Breeders’ Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.