Mirroring his winning performance in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic last fall, Sierra Leone rallied from behind to defeat an all-star field in the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney Stakes Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course.

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Beating a field of top older runners, including his Saratoga nemesis from last year Fierceness, the 4-year-old Sierra Leone closed from ninth and last after six furlongs while traveling seven wide and powered to a one-length win over runner-up Highland Falls. Sierra Leone ran 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:48.92 under jockey Flavien Prat, paying $5.90 to win as the second favorite in the nine-horse field.

With the Whitney part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, Sierra Leone earned a "Win and You're In" automatic paid berth into the Nov. 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.

The win gave trainer Chad Brown his first victory in the Spa's premier race for older dirt horses. Brown, who grew up in nearby Mechanicville, N.Y., has won seven Spa training titles as well as most of the Grade 1 stakes races at the meet, but Saturday's win removed one of the remaining items from his bucket list.

"Growing up around here, the Whitney and Travers are what the whole meet has been built around since its early days," Brown said. 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. This is a really, really hard race to win and you have to have the right horse."

On a gorgeous August afternoon in front of an on-track crowd of 42,316, Sierra Leone was surely the right horse. Owned by the Coolmore partners, Peter Brant, Westerberg, and Brook Smith, Sierra Leone staked his claim to being 2025's top older horse with the win.

Flavien Prat on Sierra Leone. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

The pace in the Whitney was set by two longshots, as 53-1 Mama's Gold and Sierra Leone's 70-1 rabbit Contrary Thinking scampered away by 6 ½ lengths after a half mile in :47:07. As the speedsters faded from the scene, 6-5 favorite Fierceness moved up from third to take the lead on the final turn and entered the stretch with a short advantage. Fierceness was soon swallowed up by a line of closers, however, with Sierra Leone and Prat closing fastest on the far outside to stick a head in front in mid-stretch.

Just inside of Sierra Leone, Godolphin's 2024 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Highland Falls tried to stay with him in the stretch but yielded late and settled for second, two lengths ahead of 46-1 shot Disarm who finished third. Fierceness faded to fifth place.

The win was the fifth victory in 12 lifetime starts for Sierra Leone, who successfully renewed his rivalry with Fierceness dating back to last year. The two Grade 1 winners met four times as 3-year-olds with a 2-2 head-to-head score that was ultimately decided by Sierra Leone's 1 1/2-length victory over Fierceness in the 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Brown said that Sierra Leone will likely run next in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Aug. 31 at Saratoga as his final prep for a return trip to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. In the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Sierra Leone is likely to face another divisional leader, Mindframe, Fierceness' multiple Grade 1-winning stablemate, who is also being pointed to the race.

Saturday's card featured a Whitney Day record all-sources handle of $48,651,341, breaking the previous mark of $40.4 million in 2022.

Deterministic Wins Fourstardave, Earns Spot in Breeders' Cup Mile

Following up a victory in the June 8 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, Deterministic successfully cut back to a mile to capture his second straight Grade 1 turf victory in the $750,000 FanDuel Fourstardave Stakes Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course.

Deterministic. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

Intellect rallied to grab second when beaten 1 1/4 lengths. Win for the Money was another three-quarters of a length back in third.

Deterministic, a 4-year-old son of Liam's Map trained by Miguel Clement, raced a mile on firm turf under jockey Kendrick Carmouche in 1:33.87. He paid $11.20 to win.

The Fourstardave Stakes is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" Series, and with his victory, Deterministic earned a paid, automatic berth into the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF at Del Mar Nov. 1.

Elsewhere on the Saratoga Aug. 2 race card, trainer Riley Mott, son of hall of famer Bill Mott, got his first graded stakes victory with World Beater in the Grade 1 $750,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational going 1 3/16 miles on the grass. Kilwin won the Grade 1 $500,000 Test Stakes presented by Ticketmaster, and Ewing won the Grade 2 $200,000 Saratoga Special Stakes for 2-year-olds wearing the silks of social media influencer Griffin Johnson.