Whitney Stakes (Grade 1)

LAST week’s Grade 1 Whitney Stakes for the top older horses ticked all the boxes at Saratoga. It was satisfying that the best horse won - Sierra Leone had won the Breeders’ Cup last season as well as some very good efforts in defeat, as when third in the Belmont Stakes, second in the Jim Dandy Stakes, and third in the Travers Stakes.

But arguably even better was that the result still left many questions. Did main rival Fierceness run his race? Did two pacemakers just set it up for the winner? Is Repole Stables’ other top runner Mindframe better than Fierceness? And the big one, how will Sierra Leone fare against three-year-olds Sovereignty and Journalism?

Sierra Leone closed from ninth and last place after six furlongs while travelling wide and powered to a length win over Highland Falls, giving Chad Brown his first win in the premier race for older dirt horses.

“Growing up around here, the Whitney and Travers are what the whole 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, my two daughters, it’s memories that last forever,” Brown was quoted on Blood-Horse. “This is a really, really hard race to win and you have to have the right horse.”

Owned by Peter Brant, the Coolmore partners, Westerberg, and Brook Smith, Sierra Leone was sent off as the 9/5 second choice as he renewed his rivalry with Fierceness, the 6/5 favourite.

The two Grade 1 winners met four times last year as three-year-olds, with a 2-2 score that included Fierceness winning the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 1 Travers (Sierra Leone third) before the Gun Runner colt’s length and a half victory over Fierceness in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Should he win that race again this year he would be the first to repeat since Tiznow in 2001.

The pace on Saturday was set by two longshots as Mama’s Gold and ‘rabbit’ from the Brown/Peter Brant ownership in Contrary Thinking. They led by over six lengths after a half-mile in a speedy 47.07secs.

As the speedsters came to the end of their efforts, Fierceness moved up from third to take the lead on the final turn and entered the stretch with about a half-length advantage. But he found little then and was headed by a line of closers with Sierra Leone and jockey Flavien Prat closing best on the outside to lead at the furlong pole and go on to win over the nine furlongs in 1m48.92secs.

Fierceness faded to fifth, five and three-quarter lengths behind the winner and it just didn’t look like his true form despite rider John Velazquez saying “He ran his eyeballs out. Not the way I wanted to do it.”

Beaten but unbowed, his owner Repole Stable posted on X.

No excuses for Fierceness today, he got beat. Fair and square.

And as painful as this is to say…..I’ve got to be honest with all of you, and with myself.

After today’s Whitney Stakes, it’s crystal clear who the best older horse in the country is..MINDFRAME.

All eyes will be on Saratoga at the end of August as Brown said his $2.3 million yearling buy will likely run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes as his final prep for a return trip to the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. And Mindframe, Fierceness’ Grade 1-winning stablemate, is also pointing to that race.

Godolphin’s 2024 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Highland Falls tried to stay with Sierra Leone but gave way late. The son of Curlin, trained by Brad Cox, was two lengths ahead of outsider at 46/1 Disarm.

“We need one more run between now and the Breeders’ Cup and maybe we’ll be in good shape,” said Cox, who will also likely run Highland Falls in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

The win was the fifth in 12 starts for Sierra Leone, who was purchased for $2.3 million at the Saratoga Sale, this day in August 2023, by White Birch Farm and M.V. Magnier and the win pushed his earnings to $6,806,200.

Record handle

Saturday’s card featured a Whitney day record all-sources handle of $49,651,341, breaking the previous mark of $40.4 million in 2022. The attendance was 42,316.

Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (Grade 1)

THE European raiders made little show in the $750,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational with Jessica Harrington’s Hotazhell going off favourite but only managing fourth of the nine runners with Adrian Murray’s Tiberius Thunder eighth.

Riley Mott, son of famed trainer Bill, earned his first graded stakes win when World Beater under Junior Alvarado proved half a length too good for Juwelier, an Irish-bred Wootton Bassett colt bred by Newtown Anner Stud, and a fast-charging Test Score.

Alvarado, replacing regular ride Jamie Torres, kept the chesnut son of Oscar Performance in the clear until the field headed into the far turn, when he ended up with little room to run. But a gap opened up as the field turned for home and Alvarado went through it with a horse full of running, getting past pacesetter Juwelier and then holding Test Score.

“I got to save some ground coming into the first turn and completely cut the corner in the second turn,” the rider said.

“When I asked my horse for his best, he split horses, and he was unbelievable today. I think it was meant to be, I have been looking for him [Riley Mott] to get his first Grade 1 because he’s Bill’s son. I have been working with him for years.”

Deterministic uses drive to survive

FanDuel Fourstardave Stakes (Grade 1)

TRAINER Miguel Clement (pictured) has a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup in his first year at the helm with Deterministic, who secured a guaranteed, fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile in winning the Grade 1 Fourstardave Stakes over the turf mile.

Clement took over training of the stable after the death of his father, Christophe, in May.

Breaking well, the son of Liam’s Map raced behind My Boy Prince early, before Deterministic overtook that front-runner into the straight and drew away in the stretch to post his most impressive win by a length and a quarter under Kendrick Carmouche.

French-bred Intellect put up a good effort for Chad Brown and Flavien Prat with Win for the Money third as both the fancied runners Johannes and Think Big proved disappointing.

Clement had secured the first Grade 1 victory of his career with Deterministic’s narrow victory in his previous start, the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes.

“Maybe his tactical speed benefits him more, I’m not sure. But right now, he’s very, very good,” Clement said.

“Once I got to the turn I let (My Boy Prince) switch leads and I just figured I should bring the race to him because my horse runs good around the turns,” Carmouche said. “He loves to hold horses off because he loves to feel it whenever they’re coming.”

Deterministic’s next start could be the Woodbine Mile on September 13th or the Grade 1 Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland in October.

Test Stakes

There was a bit of a surprise in the fillies seven-furlong Grade 1 Test Stakes for three-year-olds with the favourite Echo Sound fading to sixth place.

Kilwin stumbled when the gates opened with jockey Jose Ortiz and trailed the field by over 10 lengths after the opening two furlongs.

But the daughter of Twiling Candy found a powerful finish in the straight to register a neck win over Ragtime. Beauty Reigns finished third, three and three-quarter lengths behind the second.

“She was moving very well and I thought I had a shot turning for home,” jockey Jose Ortiz said. “I was following the right horse and I knew Junior (Alvarado, Ragtime) was travelling really nicely. I was following him, then I came out and she gave me that extra kick that I needed inside the eighth pole.”

Echo Sound had pressed the pace set by Me And Molly McGee through a half-mile but she was eased back and then found to have sustained a nondisplaced facture to her left hind splint bone and a bad cut.

Kilwin is trained by George Rusty Arnold who won the Test in 2001 with Victory Ride. The win, her first Grade 1, brought her earnings to $1,087,968 in her fourth win from seven starts and she also has been graded placed on turf.

Two-year-old star

Ewing, a Mark Casse-trained Knicks Go colt, made a big impression when he beat the favourite Obliteration in the two-year-old Grade 2 Saratoga Special stakes on the Whitney card. Ewing broke last in the field of four, he quickly motored to the front, passing 2/5 favourite Obliteration, and then held an effort from Obliteration to score by a length

Del Mar

The Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes for filles over a mile and half a furlong was another success for the Bob Baffert yard as the four-year-old Uncle Mo filly Seismic Beauty justified favouritism by a length and a half from Kopion under Juan Hernandez.