Highland Falls seeks G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup repeat

Highland Falls takes on Sierra Leone at Saratoga for a second time this month as he bids to defend his G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup title on Sunday, 31 August. 

The Brad Cox-trained five-year-old ran a fine race to finish a length second behind last season’s G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic victor in the G1 Whitney Stakes at the start of August. 

Highland Falls stormed to a decisive four-length victory in last season’s Jockey Club Gold Cup, adding to his previous Graded Stakes win in the G3 Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs in June, 2024. 

Ninth in last season’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Curlin entire made an impressive return to action at Aqueduct in June with an easy win in an allowance optional claimer. 

Michael Banahan, Director of Bloodstock, Godolphin USA, said: “Highland Falls is coming into the Jockey Club Gold Cup off a career-high performance, numbers wise, in a stellar version of the Whitney. It was only his second start of the year and, if he improves a little off that, we expect him to be very competitive again. 

“He has been pleasing Brad since the Whitney; Luis [Saez] has breezed him several times and is also very happy with him. A mile and a quarter is right up his alley and hopefully, with some luck, he can retain his Jockey Club Gold Cup crown. It is a very strong field for this year’s version of the race, but we expect him to be fighting out the finish.”