Breeders' Cup Classic watch: Sierra Leone is back with style

This is the fourth installment of a weekly feature exclusive to Horse Racing Nation tracking the Breeders’ Cup Classic horses all the way through the $7 million race on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

After losing the first two starts of his 4-year-old season, Sierra Leone returned to the limelight like gangbusters in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Stakes. The robust, stretch-running son of Gun Runner is the defending champion of the Breeders’ Cup Classic and looked the part of a real threat to do it again with his last-to-first move at Saratoga.

A picture of health and athleticism in the paddock before the race, Sierra Leone ran to his looks in what was the best race so far for older horses. Perhaps aided by his stablemate and rabbit, the champion 3-year-old ran by a field that included the champion Fierceness and the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner White Abarrio.

The Chad Brown-trained winner still needs a solid pace to be at his best, but he should appreciate the bump up in distance to 10 furlongs that he will get once again at Del Mar. If all goes well, look for Sierra Leone to make his final start before the Breeders’ Cup in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at the Spa on Aug. 30, where he could get another shot at Mindframe.

Although neither distinguished themselves in the Whitney, Fierceness, who was the race favorite but faded to fifth, and White Abarrio, who checked in fourth, will remain in contention to make another go of it in the $7 million Classic.

The veteran White Abarrio was quite wide the entire trip of the Whitney and was beaten by only four lengths. At this point, he has to be considered a long shot to win the Classic for a second time, but his performance on Saturday was better than it appears on paper.

As for Fierceness, it was another disappointing performance for a colt who has had a career of ups and downs. In seven of his 12 career starts he has been absolutely brilliant, but the other five just were not up to snuff. It will be interesting to see how his story continues to unfold in the coming months.

Highland Falls loves Saratoga, it appears. A game second on Saturday in his second start of the year, he ran a big race in the Whitney. Although he was a disappointment in last year’s Classic, keep in mind that he does have a nice win at 10 furlongs. That came in last season’s Jockey Club Gold Cup at the Spa, a race he hopefully will get a chance to defend. Now a mature 5-year-old, he moves up the list of potential winners of the big one at Del Mar.

Finally, Disarm cracks the Breeders’ Cup Classic chart after finishing third in the Whitney. Likely an outsider if he does go, he ran well to finish ahead of White Abarrio and Fierceness but didn’t really threaten and never has closed the deal against a field of quality.

Staying at Saratoga, the prospective field for the Aug. 23 Travers Stakes (G1) remains fluid. Sovereignty will be the clear favorite, and a victory there likely would mean favoritism in the Classic for the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes hero.

The speedy Magnitude and the lightly raced Goal Oriented also are expected, but after that there are numerous question marks among the biggest names. The presence of Journalism, Baeza or Gosger certainly could spice up the Travers field, but none are confirmed as to where their next race will be.

Mountaineer Park is an unlikely place to find a Breeders’ Cup Classic contender, but the West Virginia oval might have produced one or two Sunday in back-to-back races.

Don’t be fooled by the small margin. Hit Show turned in a good performance to win the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes. He had to battle for the victory, but the horse he beat, Not This Boy, is a talent we will hear more from. Still, Hit Show might not be on the Classic chart at all if not for his surprising win in this spring’s Dubai World Cup (G1).

One race later on the card, Chunk of Gold took full advantage of the addition of blinkers, a heady ride by Jareth Loveberry and a slow start by East Avenue. Going right to the lead, the son of the recently deceased Preservationist dominated the nine-furlong West Virginia Derby (G3) down the stretch to win by better than four lengths.

Having been second in four previous stakes races, it was good to see the $2,500 yearling purchase finally prevail in one for trainer Ethan West. He is probably more a feel-good story rather than a real contender for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but he looked very good in winning. The $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) could be next for the bargain-basement colt.

If Mystik Dan makes the field for the Classic, the 2024 Kentucky Derby winner will do it by going the untraditional route of running on turf in Saturday’s Arlington Million (G1) at Colonial Downs. Trained by Kenny McPeek, he had a good workout over the grass at Saratoga recently and has returned to form this year. But he will be tested in his first career start on the turf.

The next Breeders’ Cup Classic Challenge series race on the schedule will be the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) on Wednesday, Aug. 20. Run on the grass at York Racecourse, it is unclear whether any serious candidates will emerge. Last year’s winner City of Troy came over only to finish eighth in the Classic. Tepin’s son Delacroix is one of the early favorites for this year’s edition.

Track all the top contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Classic each week right here.

New to the list: Disarm and Chunk of Gold

Dropped from the list: East Avenue and Skippylongstocking