diff --git a/api/v1alpha1/freight_types.go b/api/v1alpha1/freight_types.go
index ae2f1c433b..1891edbcd2 100644
--- a/api/v1alpha1/freight_types.go
+++ b/api/v1alpha1/freight_types.go
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ type Freight struct {
 	// present, the defaulting webhook will choose an available alias and assign
 	// it to both the field and label.
 	Alias string `json:"alias,omitempty" protobuf:"bytes,7,opt,name=alias"`
+	// DiscoveryTimestamp is the time at which the Freight was first discovered
+	// from its source. This is distinct from metadata.creationTimestamp, which is
+	// set by Kubernetes and cannot be controlled by users.
+	DiscoveryTimestamp *metav1.Time `json:"discoveryTimestamp,omitempty" protobuf:"bytes,11,opt,name=discoveryTimestamp"`
 	// Origin describes a kind of Freight in terms of its origin.
 	//
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:Required
diff --git a/api/v1alpha1/promotion_types.go b/api/v1alpha1/promotion_types.go
index 08100b45e2..07b299b607 100644
--- a/api/v1alpha1/promotion_types.go
+++ b/api/v1alpha1/promotion_types.go
@@ -142,6 +142,10 @@ func (s PromotionStepStatus) Compare(other PromotionStepStatus) int {
 type Promotion struct {
 	metav1.TypeMeta   `json:",inline"`
 	metav1.ObjectMeta `json:"metadata,omitempty" protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=metadata"`
+	// DiscoveryTimestamp is the time at which the Promotion was created.
+	// This is distinct from metadata.creationTimestamp, which is
+	// set by Kubernetes and cannot be controlled by users.
+	DiscoveryTimestamp *metav1.Time `json:"discoveryTimestamp,omitempty" protobuf:"bytes,4,opt,name=discoveryTimestamp"`
 	// Spec describes the desired transition of a specific Stage into a specific
 	// Freight.
 	//
diff --git a/pkg/controller/stages/regular_stages.go b/pkg/controller/stages/regular_stages.go
index 2ab8db2e24..99a9650500 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/stages/regular_stages.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/stages/regular_stages.go
@@ -1721,10 +1721,15 @@ func (r *RegularStageReconciler) autoPromoteFreight(
 			)
 		}
 
-		// Find the latest Freight by sorting the available Freight by creation time
+		// Find the latest Freight by sorting the available Freight by discovery time
 		// in descending order.
 		slices.SortFunc(freight, func(lhs, rhs kargoapi.Freight) int {
-			return rhs.CreationTimestamp.Compare(lhs.CreationTimestamp.Time)
+			lhsTime := lhs.DiscoveryTimestamp
+			rhsTime := rhs.DiscoveryTimestamp
+			if lhsTime == nil || rhsTime == nil {
+				return rhs.CreationTimestamp.Compare(lhs.CreationTimestamp.Time)
+			}
+			return rhsTime.Time.Compare(lhsTime.Time)
 		})
 		latestFreight := freight[0]
 
@@ -1811,11 +1816,16 @@ func (r *RegularStageReconciler) autoPromoteFreight(
 					latestFreight.Name, stage.Namespace, err,
 				)
 			}
-			if len(promotions.Items) > 0 {
-				// Sort the terminal Promotions by creation time in descending order
-				slices.SortFunc(promotions.Items, func(lhs, rhs kargoapi.Promotion) int {
+if len(promotions.Items) > 0 {
+			// Sort the terminal Promotions by discovery time in descending order
+			slices.SortFunc(promotions.Items, func(lhs, rhs kargoapi.Promotion) int {
+				lhsTime := lhs.DiscoveryTimestamp
+				rhsTime := rhs.DiscoveryTimestamp
+				if lhsTime == nil || rhsTime == nil {
 					return rhs.CreationTimestamp.Compare(lhs.CreationTimestamp.Time)
-				})
+				}
+				return rhsTime.Time.Compare(lhsTime.Time)
+			})
 				newestPromotion := promotions.Items[0]
 				if newestPromotion.Status.Phase != kargoapi.PromotionPhaseSucceeded {
 					freightLogger.Debug(
diff --git a/pkg/controller/warehouses/warehouses.go b/pkg/controller/warehouses/warehouses.go
index 55c03ece0b..03d4b78109 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/warehouses/warehouses.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/warehouses/warehouses.go
@@ -572,6 +572,7 @@ func (r *reconciler) buildFreightFromLatestArtifacts(
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Namespace: namespace,
 		},
+		DiscoveryTimestamp: &metav1.Time{Time: time.Now()},
 	}
 
 	for _, result := range artifacts.Git {
diff --git a/pkg/kargo/promotion_builder.go b/pkg/kargo/promotion_builder.go
index f1f6c20818..677548f4ae 100644
--- a/pkg/kargo/promotion_builder.go
+++ b/pkg/kargo/promotion_builder.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/oklog/ulid/v2"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ func (b *PromotionBuilder) Build(
 			Namespace:   stage.Namespace,
 			Annotations: annotations,
 		},
+		DiscoveryTimestamp: &metav1.Time{Time: time.Now()},
 		Spec: kargoapi.PromotionSpec{
 			Stage:   stage.Name,
 			Freight: freight,
diff --git a/pkg/server/query_freights_v1alpha1.go b/pkg/server/query_freights_v1alpha1.go
index e37dd408f1..f03e1206fe 100644
--- a/pkg/server/query_freights_v1alpha1.go
+++ b/pkg/server/query_freights_v1alpha1.go
@@ -292,7 +292,12 @@ func sortFreightSlice(orderBy string, reverse bool, freight []*kargoapi.Freight)
 				return strings.Compare(lhsTag, rhsTag)
 			}
 		}
-		return lhs.CreationTimestamp.Compare(rhs.CreationTimestamp.Time)
+		lhsTime := lhs.DiscoveryTimestamp
+		rhsTime := rhs.DiscoveryTimestamp
+		if lhsTime == nil || rhsTime == nil {
+			return lhs.CreationTimestamp.Time.Compare(rhs.CreationTimestamp.Time)
+		}
+		return rhsTime.Time.Compare(lhsTime.Time)
 	})
 	if reverse {
 		slices.Reverse(freight)