The last time Fierceness and Sierra Leone raced against each other it was for all the marbles.
They squared off in last year's $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) where Sierra Leone's 1 1/2-length victory over Fierceness swayed Eclipse Award voters into naming the son of Gun Runner as the champion 3-year-old male.
They will meet again Aug. 2 in the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course at a time when 2025 has not unfolded as expected for either of them. Yet they are still the big names in the Spa's premier race for older horses.
"Hopefully this is the time when they will battle down the stretch again," said Chad Brown, who trains Sierra Leone.
After dominating the Classic, it appeared this year would be theirs for the taking, but so far the two 4-year-olds have combined for just four starts and one win.
"I hope he's ready for his best effort," trainer Todd Pletcher said about Fierceness (post 9). "He seems to like Saratoga, winning the Jim Dandy (G2) and Travers (G1) last year. It would be great to get him back to performances like that."
Pletcher also entered owner Mike Repole's grade 1-winning star Mindframe (post 1) in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney at the July 27 draw but that was simply in case something goes wrong with Fierceness in the coming days.
"We entered both, but the plan is to run Fierceness and give Mindframe a little more time for the (Aug. 31) Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1)," Pletcher said. "Six days is a long time in this business."
So is the nine months that have passed since the Classic.
It took six months to get Fierceness back to the races following his brave effort in the 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic and he responded with a huge win, taking the May 2 Alysheba Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in track record for 1 1/16 miles.
After that, the 2023 champion 2-year-old male was a 3-5 favorite in the June 7 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) but finished second to Raging Torrent on a sloppy track at the Spa.
"He ran a huge race off the layoff at Churchill and got kind of a messy race in the Met Mile with a tricky race out of the Wilson chute," Pletcher said about Repole's homebred son of City of Light . "He didn't run poorly, but he didn't run his best race. Hopefully he's ready for his best effort. Everything has gone according to plan. We're very happy with him. We've been waiting for this race since the Met Mile."
The Met Mile was Fierceness' first loss in four starts at Saratoga. Two of those wins came at the expense of Sierra Leone in the Jim Dandy and Travers.
"He seems to like Saratoga, winning the Jim Dandy and Travers. It would be great to get him back to performances like that," Pletcher said.
Sierra Leone (post 5) started his 4-year-old season March 22 with an even third in the New Orleans Classic (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Given three months off, he then rallied to finish second to Mindframe by a length in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs.
"We knew the first half of the year would be challenging for him. We considered bringing him to the Middle East but didn't get there. Other than that, we knew there wouldn't be distances that would suit him at this time of year," Brown said. "We ended up at the Fair Grounds in a Lasix race where two Lasix-dependent mediocre horses took advantage of the rules. I probably shouldn't have run him there.
"Last time was the first time this year in a surface suited for him and he ran super but got beat by a horse who ran a little better that day. Still, it was a real solid race. The speed figure was strong. I think I have him ready for the second half of the year."
Owned by Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook Smith, Sierra Leone is 0-for-3 at the Spa with a second and two thirds in grade 1 and 2 stakes. But Brown believes Sierra Leone does not dislike the surface.
"He's training super here," Brown said about the $2.3 million yearling buy who has earned $6.2 million. "He didn't win at Saratoga but the track was against him a bit. When you look at his speed figures, he ran some of his fastest numbers here. He didn't dislike the track. It wasn't set up for him. If he can get a clean trip and good pace in front of him, he'll be fine."
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will send out the duo of 2023 Whitney and BC Classic winner White Abarrio and multiple graded stakes winner Skippylongstocking in Saturday's mile-and-an-eighth test that offers a free "Win and You're In" spot in the BC Classic to the victor.
Gary Barber, C Two Racing Stable, and La Milagroso Stable's White Abarrio (post 7) opened the year with decisive wins in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and Ghostzapper Stakes (G3) but was a non-threatening fourth in the Met Mile. The 6-year-old son of Race Day was fifth a year earlier in the Met Mile.
"He's doing good. He will need to fire his best shot against this field. But it's possible," Joseph said. "There's nothing that we can say went wrong in the Met Mile. The best you can do is move forward and try and get everything back in line."
Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking (post 2) has earned $3.6 million in his 32-race career and will try to notch his first grade 1 victory. The multiple grade 2 winner by Exaggerator is coming off a three-quarters of a length triumph in the May 26 Hollywood Gold Cup (G2).
"He's been a model of consistency. To earn $3.6 million is amazing. It's a tough race," Joseph said about the Whitney. "He's run well enough at times to win a grade 1 but never in a grade 1 stakes. He deserves a grade 1 win and we'll keep chasing it."
Among the other 10 entrants are Godolphin's Highland Falls (post 3), who won the 2024 Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Hillwood Stable's Post Time (post 10), who finished third in last year's Whitney.
Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 2, 2025, Race 11Entries: Whitney S. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Mindframe (MD) Jose Antonio Gomez 124 Todd A. Pletcher - 2 Skippylongstocking (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. - 3 Highland Falls (KY) Luis Saez 124 Brad H. Cox - 4 Mama's Gold (NY) Romero Ramsay Maragh 120 James W. Ferraro - 5 Sierra Leone (KY) Flavien Prat 124 Chad C. Brown - 6 Disarm (KY) Joel Rosario 120 Steven M. Asmussen - 7 White Abarrio (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 124 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. - 8 Contrary Thinking (KY) Dylan Davis 120 Chad C. Brown - 9 Fierceness (KY) John R. Velazquez 124 Todd A. Pletcher - 10 Post Time (MD) Sheldon Russell 120 Brittany T. Russell -
