Breeders' Cup Classic watch: Best horse meets the challenge

This is the 17th and final 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.

Even without Sovereignty, the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic lived up to the anticipation as Forever Young earned his first U.S. victory with an outstanding performance at Del Mar to hold off the powerful late run of defending champion Sierra Leone.

Proving their quality as returning older horses, the trio of Forever Young, Sierra Leone, and third-place finisher Fierceness were able to come home as the top three finishers in America’s richest race for the second straight year.

Trained by Yoshito Yahagi and ridden by Ryusei Sakai, Forever Young verified his place as one of the world’s best horses by taking home the lion’s share of the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

It was sweet revenge for the Japan team after the 4-year-old son of Real Steel had finished a good third in both the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2024. 

Running hard early to gain forward position in the 1 1/4-mile affair, Forever Young surged to the lead at the top of the stretch while keeping the champion Fierceness at bay. Sierra Leone came with a strong charge, but the best horse won.

There is hope Forever Young will return to the U.S. for a third run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic next year at Keeneland, but for now he will get a short rest home in Japan before defending his crown in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in February. His schedule also includes a return trip to the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) after that.

As for the runner-up Sierra Leone, he could not have run much better in defense of his biggest career win. In what might have been his best career race, he made a strong run to get within a half-length of Forever Young at the wire over a running surface clearly favoring speed. 

It was the final career race for the Chad Brown-trained son of Gun Runner. The 4-year-old champion will retire to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, where he will begin stallion duties in 2026.

Remarkably consistent in three seasons on the track, Sierra Leone calls it a career after winning five times in 14 lifetime races. The three-time Grade 1 winner never finished out of the top three while running in America’s biggest races. The confirmed stretch runner finished second six times and earned over $8 million.

Fierceness might not have been as consistent as his top rivals, but the brilliant son of City of Light showed up each time at the Breeders’ Cup and completed his excellent career by finishing third by 1 1/2 lengths in the Classic.

The Todd Pletcher trainee also is headed to Kentucky to begin his career as a stallion. The Repole Stable homebred will join Sierra Leone at Ashford Stud. 

Fierceness retires with seven wins in 14 career starts, with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Travers Stakes (G1), and Pacific Classic among his biggest career victories. 

The best of the rest was the hickory 3-year-old Journalism, who turned in yet another solid performance with a fourth-place finish in the loaded field of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 

A three-time Grade 1 winner this year, no horse tackled the season’s big races more consistently than the Preakness winner. Plans for the son of Curlin, to continue racing or be retired to stud, are expected to be announced soon.

Having been knocked out of the race by a fever, Sovereignty might have unfinished business on the track, and he also could take home the title as America’s horse of the year. 

With Forever Young running stateside only once in 2025, it would seem likely the six-race season of the Godolphin homebred would hold up as the finest in the U.S. this year.

Like his rival Journalism, a decision on the future of the Bill Mott-trained winner of the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Travers Stakes (G1) will be made in the near future. 

It was an excellent 42nd edition of the Breeders’ Cup Classic all the way around this year, and that is mainly because the connections of Forever Young, Sierra Leone and Fierceness did not choose to retire their stars after their 3-year-old seasons.

Seeing them come back as more mature 4-year-olds was a treat for racing fans and hopefully a trend that continues in American racing.