Sierra Leone won the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic by 1 1/2 lengths Saturday at Del Mar, ending a frustrating run of recent losses, including the Kentucky Derby.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Sierra Leone ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.78. Sent off as the 6-1 fourth choice, the 3-year-old colt paid $15.80, $5.60 and $3.60 in his first race after a two-month layoff.
"I'm so happy for the horse because he's come up short a few times," trainer Chad Brown said. "I thought he had some excuses, but he's been so consistent and he's such an honest horse, one of the best that I've ever had."
Sierra Leone lost by a nose to Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby and then finished third in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. That's where he was second in the Jim Dandy and third in the Travers.
"He took a tough beat in the Derby, but we did it with class and respect, and we just went back to the drawing board and worked on getting him straight," Brown said. "He's a great horse, he took to this track and it was his day today."
Brown has 19 Cup wins, leaving him one short of career leading trainers Aidan O'Brien, who won two races Friday, and D. Wayne Lukas.
It was Brown's first win in the Classic on his fourth try. His mentor, the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, won the Classic in 2004 with Ghostzapper.
"At moments like this, I always think about him," Brown said.
Fierceness, the 5-2 favourite, returned $4.40 and $3.20. Forever Young of Japan was another 2 3/4 lengths back in third and paid $3.60 to show. Newgate, trained by Bob Baffert, was fourth in the full field of 14.
Ireland-based City of Troy, the 4-1 third choice with six wins in seven career starts on grass, finished eighth in his first start on dirt for O'Brien.
Prat made back-to-back trips to the winner's circle, taking the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf aboard Moira for his 50th graded stakes win of the year.
