Sierra Leone roars to first Spa victory in G1 Whitney

Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook Smith’s Sierra Leone, the Champion 3-Year-Old Colt of 2024 that had gone winless in three previous tries at Saratoga Race Course, broke through in dramatic last-to-first fashion Saturday by powering past favored Fierceness in mid-stretch and turning back a determined bid from Highland Falls through the lane for a one-length victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney.
 
The 98th running of the 1 1/8-mile Whitney for 4-year-olds and up was the headliner on a stacked 13-race program featuring five graded-stakes worth $3.2 million in purses, earning the winner an all-fees-paid berth into the Grade 1, $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic November 1 at Del Mar.
 
In a rematch of last year’s Classic, where Sierra Leone came from far back to defeat Fierceness and clinch Championship honors after finishing behind his rival in the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers and Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga, it gave jockey Flavien Prat his fourth win of the day and five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, a native of nearby Mechanicville, N.Y., his third. Brown added a fourth winner with Peak Hype in the Race 13 finale.
 
“He’s always been running in the highest level of races at Saratoga. He ran in the Travers, Belmont Stakes and such,” Brown said. “The more I looked at his numbers, I wasn’t sold that he doesn’t really like the track, I just think he hadn’t won and some of his fastest numbers as a 3-year-old were actually at Saratoga—he just didn’t get it done. As you saw in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and today, he’s a full-rounded, fully polished, fine-tuned, high-level racehorse right now.
 
“Growing up around here, the Whitney and the Travers is what the whole race meet has been built around since its early days, so for me to finally get one of them with my mom and dad here, my brother, both of my daughters, made memories to last forever,” he added. “This is a really hard race to win and you got to have the right horse.”
 
Sierra Leone was unhurried in the early going, breaking last and trailing the field as Brant-owned stablemate Contrary Thinking, sent off at 70-1, outran fellow longshot Mama’s Gold through an opening quarter-mile in 23.82 seconds. There was a long gap back to Fierceness, settled in third along the rail under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, with Highland Falls and 2023 Classic winner and $7 million earner White Abarrio - the 2023 Whitney winner - sparring for fourth.
 
Mama’s Gold eased past a tiring Contrary Thinking after a half-mile in 47.07 seconds as the trailing group began to close the gap though Sierra Leone had yet to move up from last following millionaire Post Time, who ran third in last year’s Whitney. Skippylongstocking, fifth in last year’s race after prompting the pace, made a bold move up the rail to get into contention and wrest the lead from Mama’s Gold following six furlongs in 1:11.59 with Fierceness right in behind and Highland Falls looming a threat.
 
After waiting patiently, Sierra Leone got his cue and began winding his way through horses before finding a clear path on the far outside straightening for home, with Highland Falls to his inside. They ranged up on Fierceness, who had forged a short lead, nearing the eighth pole, moved past and hooked up in the final sixteenth of a mile before Sierra Leone edged clear to win in 1:48.92 over a fast main track.
 
"I was happy with his position. He was quite far back and I knew when those horses were stopping out in the center of the track, that he was going to have to go inside horses and catch a lot of dirt,” Brown said. “What we know about the horse now is that he’s a long, outside-run horse, like he did in the Breeders’ Cup and in the [2024 Kentucky] Derby and nearly won, so for him to cut the corner and catch a lot of dirt, which isn’t his preferred way to pass horses, making up considerable ground to then get out with blinkers full of mud and get there was a really remarkable run by him. A lot of heart.”
 
Sent off as the second choice at 9-5 behind Fierceness, Sierra Leone returned $5.90 on a $2 win bet.

Prat said he was pleased with Sierra Leone's early position.
 
“Even if I'm in the back, at least he broke running. I was traveling well all the way around. I didn't know when I hit the three-eighths pole if I had a ton of horse. When I asked him, I cut the corner, he came underneath me nicely and when I tipped him out, he made a very good run,” Prat said. “I think he has improved. I think he has improved from last year. I do think last race was basically his first race of the season, we ran into a slow pace on a fast track, so I had expectations of improvement.”
 
Disarm made a late run to be third, one length ahead of White Abarrio, with Fierceness another 1 3/4 lengths back in fifth. Post Time, Skippylongstocking, Mama’s Gold and Contrary Thinking completed the order of finish. Fierceness’ multiple Grade 1-winning stablemate Mindframe was scratched to await the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup August 31 at Saratoga.
 
Brad Cox was pleased with the effort from runner-up Highland Falls, who was making just his second start of the year after finishing ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. In his only prior start at Saratoga, Highland Falls won last summer’s Jockey Club Gold Cup.
 
“He ran good and he was up there with Fierceness going up the backside. Obviously, their [connections of Sierra Leone] game plan of putting pace into the race worked out today,” Cox said. “This is our horse’s second run off the layoff and I think as long as he comes out of it in good order, he could move forward again. I think he’s moved forward as a 5-year-old just based off the way he’s trained and the two races he’s run. He obviously likes Saratoga, so we’ll regroup. I think it’s safe to say if all is well, we’ll probably look at the Jockey Club.”
 
Brown hinted he may bring Sierra Leone back in the 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup, also a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Classic, with an eye on a repeat in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
 
“I would [consider the Jockey Club Gold Cup] because he hasn’t run that much this year” he said. “Last year, I had handicapped the Travers until the Classic barely as the absolute maximum layoff for me and he was able to pull it off. This is a little further away now, so I’m not sure I want that many weeks between races with a horse who has only run three times. I’m not afraid to run this horse. I’m not afraid of running again, because if he comes out of it sound, I have a lot of time from the Jockey Club Gold Cup.”
 
Bred in Kentucky by Debby Oxley, Sierra Leone fetched $2.3 million at Fasig-Tipton’s 2022 Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. He raced twice at two, winning his debut and running second to subsequent Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and NYRABets Haskell winner Dornoch in the Grade 2 Remsen.
 
Sierra Leone was third or better in all seven of his starts at three including Grade 1 wins in the Classic and Blue Grass, and was beaten a nose when second to Mystik Dan in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. Third to Dornoch in the Belmont, contested for the first time at Saratoga, he returned to run second in the Jim Dandy and third in the Travers, both times as the favorite.
 
Brown trained Sierra Leone up to the Classic and he responded with a 1 1/2-length upset of Fierceness to seal the Eclipse Award. He had raced twice this year prior to the Whitney, finishing third in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic and second in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster.
 
“In fairness to Chad, he’s always had a plan and he’s kept to that plan. It’s worked out so far. It’s great,” said MV Magnier of co-owner Coolmore. “Flavien said at the eighth pole, he was going like that [twitching ears] and he was just cruising. I’d say he’s a very special horse. We’re on to Del Mar now.
 
“It’s incredible what he did last year in the Breeders’ Cup Classic – it was an astonishing run, really,” he added. “He’s a very good racehorse and to do it again here today being in Saratoga – we thought he didn’t handle the track here last year, and he’s matured. He’s a very good horse. We’re blessed to be here and it’s exciting. We just look forward to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 3, $175,000 Adirondack in Race 4 and the Grade 2, $300,000 Troy in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

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