Tom Pedulla offers takeaways from Whitney Stakes day at Saratoga Race Course and the Grade 1  Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Presented by Oak Tree Racing Association at Del Mar, both on Saturday, on a big weekend of racing as the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Del Mar come into view.

BREAKING THROUGH: Defending Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone, winless in three previous Saratoga starts with a second- and two third-place finishes, broke through at an ideal time. He rallied from last to first and held off Highland Falls by one length in the $1 million Whitney Stakes. It was the first Whitney triumph for trainer Chad Brown, who hails from nearby Mechanicville, N.Y. “Growing up around here, the Whitney and the Travers is what the whole race meet has been built around since its early days,” Brown said. “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.” Brown said Sierra Leone, who locked up an automatic fees-paid berth in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by capturing the Whitney, probably will make his next start in the Aug. 31 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

ENCOURAGING SECOND: Godolphin homebred Highland Falls added his name to the list of contenders in what looms as a competitive Classic by placing second in the Whitney in only his second start this season. Trainer Brad Cox was encouraged by everything he saw. “This is our horse’s second run off the layoff,” he noted, “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 based off the way he’s trained and the two races he’s run.” By two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, Highland Falls cruised by 5 ½ lengths in a June 25 allowance race at the Belmont at the Big A meet in his previous start. He, too, will target the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: The Clement barn has maintained a level of excellence following the death of Hall of Fame finalist Christophe. His son, Miguel, earned his first Grade 1 score when Deterministic held on by a determined head in the June 8 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes. The 4-year-old Liam’s Map colt again delivered for Miguel at the top level in the FanDuel Fourstardave Stakes to secure an automatic, fees-paid berth in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF. He has swept three straight races since jockey Kendrick Carmouche hopped aboard. Clement said of Deterministic, “He’s won on multiple surfaces over a wide range of distances. He makes us look good because he is top class.” The 1 ¼-length decision gave Deterministic his seventh victory in 13 lifetime starts.

Ewing winning Saratoga Special Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)

SOMETHING SPECIAL: Ewing, named for the New York Knicks Hall of Fame center, proved he is more than a name when he overcame a slow start and repelled highly-regarded Obliteration by one length in the $200,000 Saratoga Special Stakes. The Knicks Go colt veered in after breaking from the starting gate but recovered quickly for jockey Jose Ortiz to take the early lead, then withstood heavy pressure from Obliteration to win for the second time in as many starts for D.J. Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Kenneth Freirich. Ewing zipped through the 6 ½-furlong contest in 1:18.03. “That was kind of crazy. We didn’t warm him up so he would kind of get away slow, so he could settle,” Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said. “Jose said he settled for three strides. He’s fast.” Ewing ruled his 5 ½-furlong debut by 12 lengths on July 5 at Saratoga.

MYRACEHORSE WINS BIG: MyRacehorse, which allows fans of modest means easy access to horse ownership through microshares, partnered with Peter Leidel to win the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes with Seismic Beauty. The 4-year-old filly led from start to finish for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Juan Hernandez in gaining a fees-paid berth in the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She pushed her earnings to $476,840 in completing the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:42.33. “She’s a big filly. She looks like she’s going easy, but they were going fast,” Baffert said. “She’s just getting better and better. She’s still maturing, but I think she will improve off of that.”