Sierra Leone is the boss in Breeders’ Cup Classic

By Jarrod Horak

The Grade 1, $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic was the marquee event on Saturday, November 2, 2024, and Sierra Leone stormed home from off to pace to beat post time favorite Fierceness by a length and a half. Japanese invader Forever Young finished third and made it a clean sweep for sophomores.

Sierra Leone, ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Chad Brown, has been one of my favorite equine athletes this year. The $2.3 million Gun Runner colt won the Risen Star (G2), Blue Grass (G1), and BC Classic (G1), finished second in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Jim Dandy (G2), and landed the show in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers (G1). His nose defeat in the Kentucky Derby was an especially tough pill to swallow. He was making a wide, winning move turning for home but lugged in and cost himself the race by a nose.

Chad Brown made a rider switch from Tyler Gaffalione to Flavien Prat after the Derby, and he changed his bit and tinkered with his equipment in an attempt to get him to run a straighter course.

As the summer wore on, Sierra Leone began to mature, and he started working solo and put his bad racetrack antics behind him. He kept catching speed favoring tracks and had the race flow against him in three straight underneath finishes at Saratoga, and he was much more professional when running third in the Grade 1 Travers. He was training forwardly prior to the BC Classic and he finally got pace to chase over a fair racetrack at Del Mar, and all of those factors allowed him to put it all together in the biggest race of the year.

This sets up an interesting discussion for the 3-year-old title. Fierceness and Sierra Leone both have the credentials to be named champion sophomore, and if I had a vote, I would give it to Sierra Leone due to his consist graded stakes form all season long. 

BC Classic (22.43, 44.96, 1:09.44, 1:35.05, 2:00.78) – Winner: Sierra Leone ($15.,80)

Derma Sotogake (JPN), the runner-up in the 2023 BC Classic, added blinkers and went straight to the front early, and he was moving right along. Mixto, Fierceness, Forever Young (JPN), and Arthur’s Ride were in chase mode. If you were aware of the fractions and looked back at Sierra Leone, you just knew that he would win this race. Flavien Prat gave Chad Brown’s sophomore colt a flawless ride. He was able to settle in a nice spot near the back of the pack, and breaking from post 11 allowed him to stay out of trouble. Derma Sotogake and Arthur’s Ride were the first two to crack, and Fierceness struck the front with two furlongs to go. Newgate stalked wide from post 13 and Frankie Dettori made his move, and Forever Young was lurking right behind them, but they were all in big trouble and may not have known it. Sierra Leone was making a strong wide run approaching the far turn, and he had a full head of steam turning for home. Fierceness dug in valiantly but he had no answer in deep stretch, and Sierra Leone wore him down and edged away to win by a length and a half. Fierceness got his preferred outside tactical trip under John Velazquez, but the race flow favored Sierra Leone and he had to settle for the place. Forever Young worked out a decent trip chasing the pace, and he drifted out in the lane and caught Newgate for the show. Senor Buscador passed tired rivals and was 5th, and Tapit Trice, Pyrenees, City of Troy, Highland Falls, Ushba Tesoro (JPN), Mixto, Arthur’s Ride, Derma Sotogake, and Next rounded out the order of finish.