![\"Sierra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6aebe8_8e60e8d9dd164ad88a2198ca8eb0c9ad~mv2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe two horses that fought out the finish of last year\u2019s GI Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic are set to clash again in a blockbuster renewal<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sierra Leone and Fierceness, in Last Year’s Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic \/ BREEDERS’ CUP<\/p>\n
SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (Special for Turf Diario).- Saratoga is gearing up for a blockbuster Saturday with the 98th running of the\u00a0G1 Whitney S., one of the marquee events on the American racing calendar. Offering a $1-million purse and a “Win and You’re In” berth to the\u00a0GI Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic\u00a0on Nov. 1 at Del Mar, the 1 1\/8-mile contest for 4-year-olds and up will highlight a 13-race card featuring five graded stakes and $3.2 million in total purses.<\/p>\n
A field of 10\u2014eight of them millionaires\u2014has been entered for the Whitney, which promises a high-stakes rematch between champions\u00a0Fierceness, last year\u2019s 2-year-old Eclipse Award winner, and\u00a0Sierra Leone, the reigning Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic hero. Also in the mix is\u00a0White Abarrio, a four-time G1 winner and the field\u2019s top earner with over $7 million in career earnings.<\/p>\n
After finishing a troubled second from the rail in the\u00a0GI Metropolitan H.\u00a0on June 7 at Belmont-at-Aqueduct,\u00a0Fierceness\u00a0returns to two turns, where he has shown his best form. Trained by\u00a0Todd Pletcher\u00a0for the powerhouse partnership of\u00a0Repole Stable,\u00a0Michael Tabor,\u00a0Derrick Smith, and\u00a0Mrs. John Magnier, the son of\u00a0City of Light\u00a0was a dominant winner of last year\u2019s\u00a0GI Travers S.\u00a0and\u00a0GII Jim Dandy S.\u00a0at this same venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t get away cleanly from the inside in the Met Mile, and it cost him,\u201d Pletcher said. \u201cBack at Saratoga and going two turns, we\u2019re expecting him to show his best.\u201d Fierceness will break from post 9 under\u00a0John Velazquez\u00a0and carry 124 pounds.<\/p>\n
Sierra Leone, trained by\u00a0Chad Brown, has yet to win in three starts this year but exits a runner-up finish in the\u00a0GI Stephen Foster S.\u00a0A son of\u00a0Gun Runner, the colt sports the colors of\u00a0Peter Brant\u00a0and\u00a0Coolmore\u00a0and will have\u00a0Flavien Prat\u00a0aboard from post 5. Brown also saddles\u00a0Contrary Thinking\u00a0(Into Mischief), a front-running allowance winner on June 29 who steps up to G1 company for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping for an honest pace,\u201d said Brown. \u201cHe\u2019s been right there in every race and, with the right setup, I think he\u2019s got a big shot.\u201d Sierra Leone also totes 124 pounds.<\/p>\n
Defending Whitney winner\u00a0White Abarrio, now trained by\u00a0Saffie Joseph Jr., returns to the scene of last year\u2019s 6 1\/4-length romp. The son of\u00a0Race Day\u00a0won this season\u2019s\u00a0GI Pegasus World Cup\u00a0and\u00a0GIII Ghostzapper S., and was a troubled fourth in the Met Mile.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s doing well and training with purpose,\u201d Joseph Jr. said. \u201cIf he brings his A-game, he can beat anyone.\u201d\u00a0Irad Ortiz Jr.\u00a0will ride from post 7 (124 pounds).<\/p>\n
Though Pletcher has made clear that\u00a0Fierceness\u00a0is his primary contender, he also entered\u00a0Mindframe, undefeated in three starts this year, including the Stephen Foster. \u201cHe\u2019s matured and shown versatility. We\u2019ll be ready to go with him if needed,\u201d the trainer said.\u00a0Jose Gomez\u00a0is named on Mindframe, who drew the rail and carries 124 pounds, though he is considered unlikely to run if Fierceness starts.<\/p>\n
Skippylongstocking, stablemate to White Abarrio, is fresh off a win in the\u00a0GII Hollywood Gold Cup\u00a0and will break from post 2 under\u00a0Jose Ortiz\u00a0(122 lbs).<\/p>\n
Post Time\u00a0(Frosted), third in last year\u2019s Whitney, enters off a sharp victory in the Deputed Testamony.\u00a0Sheldon Russellhas the mount from post 10 (120 lbs).<\/p>\n
Highland Falls\u00a0(Curlin), trained by\u00a0Brad Cox\u00a0for\u00a0Godolphin, returned from a break with an impressive win and returns to Saratoga, where he was runner-up in the\u00a0GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. He starts from post 3 with\u00a0Luis Saez(124 lbs).<\/p>\n
Disarm\u00a0(Gun Runner), who was second in the 2023 Travers and third in the Gold Cup, represents\u00a0Steve Asmussen\u00a0and will be ridden by\u00a0Joel Rosario\u00a0from post 6 (120 lbs).<\/p>\n
Mama\u2019s Gold\u00a0(Bolt d’Oro), second in the\u00a0Commentator S.\u00a0for New York-breds, completes the field from post 4 under\u00a0Romero Maragh\u00a0(120 lbs).<\/p>\n
More than just a headline race, the Whitney will serve as a major launching pad toward the Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic. With established stars, emerging contenders, and $1 million on the line, Saturday\u2019s showdown at Saratoga is poised to be one for the ages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The two horses that fought out the finish of last year\u2019s GI Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic are set to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-40648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}