The first week of August hosts three important races that are part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series. At Saratoga, the 96^th running of the Whitney Stakes will go on Saturday, Aug. 5, and is a qualifier for the Nov. 4 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park. Later that evening at Del Mar, leading dirt fillies and mares will compete in the 53^rd Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, offering an automatic berth to the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

Before those two signature events occur, an overseas prep will be held as part of the boutique Glorious Goodwood meet in England. On Aug. 2, some of the best grass milers will contest the $1.28 million Qatar Sussex Stakes, which is a Challenge Series qualifier for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF on Nov. 4.

In addition to those races, several other graded stakes on tap this week in the U.S. have influenced the Breeders’ Cup through the years. Let’s look ahead …

Whitney Stakes

Where: Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

When: Saturday, Aug. 5

How to Watch: FOX

“Win and You’re In” for: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic

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Why it’s important: The Whitney, held at 1 1/8 miles, continues to exist as one of the most prestigious races in the sport just as it did for decades before the Breeders’ Cup was conceived. It boasts arguably the most impressive list of past winners in the pantheon of North American dirt races, including such legends as Discovery, War Admiral, Kelso, and Dr. Fager. Since the first Breeders’ Cup in 1984, six horses have won the Whitney and Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same year: Awesome Again (1998), Invasor (2006), Blame (2010), Fort Larned (2012), Gun Runner (2017), and Knicks Go (2021). In addition, two fillies who won the Whitney during the 1980s – Hall of Famers Lady’s Secret in 1986 and Personal Ensign in 1988 – trained on to win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Best winner during the Breeders’ Cup era: Dead heat between Invasor and Gun Runner, with Blame a head back in third. Invasor did not lose a race in the U.S. after relocating from Uruguay, going 5-for-5 with $3.99 million in earnings. His win in the Whitney was actually the toughest, however, as he overcame a poor start to edge Sun King by a nose. The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee then defeated champion Bernardini by a rallying length in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs and won two more races in 2007, topped by the Dubai World Cup, before retiring.

Gun Runner’s exploits are fresher in the memory, and his dominance at age 4 was a sight to behold indeed. The Candy Ride colt won all five of his starts in the U.S. that year, with his only blemish coming overseas as runner-up to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup. He pulverized six opponents in the Whitney by 5 ¼ lengths despite carrying a loose horseshoe entangled in his tail, and two starts later easily dispatched Arrogate and nine other foes in the Classic at Del Mar, scoring by 2 ¼ lengths. Gun Runner is a cinch to join Invasor in the Racing Hall of Fame, and he’s already become one of the most sought-after sires in North American breeding.

Last year’s winner: China Horse Club and WinStar Farm’s Life Is Good coasted to a two-length win in the Whitney, establishing himself as the biggest threat to California-based superstar Flightline among Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic contenders. Life Is Good indeed took it to his unbeaten foe for the first mile of the mile-and-a-quarter Classic Nov. 5 at Keeneland, before tiring late to finish fifth.

2023 starters: This year’s Whitney is highly anticipated as the 2022 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody’s Wish is expected to put a six-race winning streak on the line Saturday.

Clement L. Hirsch Stakes

Where: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar, Calif.

When: Saturday, Aug. 5

How to Watch: FanDuel TV

“Win and You’re In” for: Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Why it’s important: It may not have the same historical prestige, but like the Whitney the 1 1/16-mile Clement Hirsch has also been a consistent influence on year-end championships in the dirt female division ever since the Breeders’ Cup launched in 1984. That August, Princess Rooney captured what was then named the Chula Vista Handicap by 2 ½ lengths as the even-money favorite, and then won two more races easily before taking the inaugural Distaff at Hollywood Park by seven lengths. Since then, three more fillies/mares have achieved the Clement Hirsch-Breeders’ Cup Distaff double, and like Princess Rooney, all are in the Hall of Fame: Bayakoa (1990), Azeri (2002), and Zenyatta (2009). Beholder, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer, won the 2015 Clement Hirsch, finished second in 2016, and then won the Longines Distaff that year over Songbird in one of the most exciting races of this century. 

Zenyatta wins the 2010 Clement Hirsch. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Best winner during the Breeders’ Cup era: A queen among lesser royalty, Zenyatta stands out. The daughter of Street Cry won the Clement L. Hirsch for three consecutive years – 2008, 2009, and 2010 – for wins seven, 12, and 18 of what would be a 19-race winning streak to start out her career. In 2008, Zenyatta followed her Clement Hirsch score with a win in what was then called the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Santa Anita Park. A year later, she did even better by using the Clement Hirsch as a prep to take on – and defeat – males in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, also at Santa Anita. All of those wins, as well as the 2010 Clement Hirsch, came on artificial surfaces, and in 2010 Zenyatta lost her bid for a repeat in the Breeders’ Cup Classic when finishing a head behind the abovementioned Blame on Churchill Downs’ dirt track, her final start. Zenyatta gained arguably as much devotion from fans in her only defeat as she did in her prior dominant wins, and no one who witnessed her incredible talent and courage on the track will ever forget it.

Last year’s winner: Argentine-bred Blue Stripe, a champion in her home country, emerged as a leading West Coast contender for the Longines Distaff with a win in the Santa Margarita Stakes, a runner-up effort in the Santa Maria Stakes, and then a 1 ¾-length win in the Clement Hirsch. Facing a formidable field in the Longines Distaff at Keeneland, including East Coast and Midwest runners Malathaat, Clairiere, and Nest, Blue Stripe was a 24.02-1 longshot when the gates opened, but the Marcelo Polonco trainee outran those odds and then some to finish a nose behind Malathaat in second after a three-way photo finish including Clairiere was analyzed.

Qatar Sussex Stakes

Where: Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester, United Kingdom

When: Wednesday, Aug. 2

How to Watch: FS2

“Win and You’re In” for: FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF

Modern Games (Eclipse Sportswire)

Why it’s important: The Sussex became a “Win and You’re In” race in 2015 but did not send a winner to compete in the World Championships until 2018. Several top-class European horses that won the Sussex prior to 2015 did make their mark on the Breeders’ Cup, most notably 2000 winner Giant’s Causeway, aka the “Iron Horse,” who shipped to Churchill Downs to run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on dirt and lost by a neck to Tiznow. In addition, 2008 Sussex 1-2 finishers Henrythenavigator and Raven’s Pass reversed those positions in that fall’s Classic when it was held on a synthetic track at Santa Anita Park. No horse has won the Sussex Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Mile in the same year since this race was added to the Challenge Series.

Best horse since this race was added to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Hands down, Modern Games. The Godolphin homebred easily took the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar after shipping in from England, although he was declared a non-betting interest due to starting gate misfortune, a decision that angers bettors still. The colt then won the French Two Thousand Guineas at age 3 before going off form and finishing third and fifth in Group 1 stakes prior to a start in last summer’s Sussex, in which he ran a solid second behind the best miler in Europe at the time, undefeated Baaeed. That set Modern Games up for a stellar fall season during which Modern Games shipped to Woodbine and won the Ricoh Woodbine Mile, went back to England and ran a good second in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, and then came right back to North America and rallied to a three-quarter-length win in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF at Keeneland.

Other weekend races:

The seven-furlong Test Stakes Saturday at Saratoga for 3-year-old fillies is another of many races at the Spa that carries an impressive roll call of winners. In back-to-back years, two of them – Covfefe in 2019 and Gamine in 2020 – parlayed wins in the Test into triumphs in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Both received the Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter.

No 3-year-old horse has won the one-mile National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes at the Spa and then captured a Breeders’ Cup race later in the season, but several race winners made their mark on the World Championships in another season, most notably Bricks and Mortar. That Chad Brown trainee earned his first stakes win in the 2017 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and, after an extended break due to injuries, returned in late 2018 to win seven races in a row topped by the 2019 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park. He was voted Horse of the Year and for that 2019 season.

The Glens Falls Stakes at Saratoga, set this year for Aug. 3, has sent several winners on to shine at the Breeders’ Cup, perhaps the best being current star War Like Goddess. George Krikorian’s prize mare has won the 1 ¼-mile Glens Falls the past two years and subsequently ran third by a half-length in the 2021 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar and then third by three lengths against males in the 2022 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. War Like Goddess is pointed for a three-peat bid this week at the Spa.

Lastly, the 6 ½-furlong Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga served as the springboard for 2011 champion 2-year-old filly My Miss Aurelia, who subsequently won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs.