A $2.3 million buy at The Saratoga Sale at Fasig-Tipton in 2022, Sierra Leone is the most expensive horse sold at public auction of 346 early nominees to the Triple Crown. More importantly, he is also one of the fastest—a fact on display Feb. 17 when the Gun Runner colt made an auspicious 3-year-old debut at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Showing improved focus with the addition of blinkers, Sierra Leone rallied from ninth to catch longtime leader Track Phantom on his way to a half-length victory in the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2). He defeated a field that top-to-bottom appeared the strongest of any Kentucky Derby (G1) prep contested in 2024.
Runner-up in the Remsen Stakes (G2) after a first-out victory in two starts last year for trainer Chad Brown, Sierra Leone overcame slow fractions of :24.32, :49.67, and 1:14.74 to win a sloppy renewal of the Risen Star with 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.13. The final time over wet conditions was the slowest since Fair Grounds extended the distance to 1 1/8 miles in 2020.
The 3-year-old paid $7.40 to win as the favorite in the 12-horse field.
"The blinkers really helped him focus today," jockey Tyler Gaffalione said. "He broke alertly, and we hoped going into this race there would be more speed. He got a comfortable trip up the backside and relaxed for me. When he took the lead in the stretch, I could feel beneath me (that) he is only going to want to go longer after this.
"He is an incredible horse and Chad Brown and his team have done an incredible job with him. You always keep dreaming of the big races like the Derby, and horses like this help you keep the dream alive.”
Sierra Leone races for owners Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Brook Smith, and Peter Brant.
"Given the track conditions and slow pace and that he hasn't run since the Remsen, I thought he showed a lot to run down a pretty good horse who was in form and fit and didn't have to ship," Brown said of Sierra Leone catching Track Phantom, a dual stakes winner at Fair Grounds. "I wasn't sure if he'd reel him in—not because we're not good enough—but that was a tall order. So this proved a lot to me today."
Smarty Jones Stakes winner Catching Freedom rallied for third, 1 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up and 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Resilience in fourth. Last fall's Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) winner Honor Marie was 2 3/4 lengths farther back in fifth.
Kentucky Derby qualifying points were earned on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis to Saturday's top five finishers. With the victory, Sierra Leone has seemingly assured a starting spot in the Derby, a race that usually draws beyond its 20-horse maximum field size. Officials use qualifying points as a reference system for entry.
The Risen Star is the second-richest race for 3-year-old males of the racing season at Fair Grounds, surpassed only by the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) March 23. The 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby offers 200 qualifying points toward the May 4 Run for the Roses.
Brown, however, indicated the April 6 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland is the intended final Derby prep for Sierra Leone.
Brown's Blue Grass, Derby History
- The trainer won the Blue Grass in 2018 with Good Magic and in 2022 with Zandon .
- Both horses hit the board in their respective Derby, Brown's best finishes in the first leg of the Triple Crown. Good Magic ran second in the Derby, Zandon third. The latter also kicked off his season in the Risen Star, finishing third.
- Brown, a two-time Preakness Stakes (G1) winner, is 0-1-1 with seven Derby starters.
Gaffalione has gone unplaced in six Derby rides. His best Derby finish came on 2019 seventh-place finisher War of Will , who, after a troubled trip in the Derby, would take the Preakness Stakes (G1) under the jockey two weeks later. War of Will captured that year's Risen Star under Gaffalione.
Three Risen Star participants have won the Kentucky Derby: War Emblem, sixth in the 2002 Risen Star; Country House , second in the 2019 race; and Mandaloun , first in 2021. Both Country House and Mandaloun won the Kentucky Derby via disqualification.
Many of the Risen Star's top performers have contended in the first leg of the Triple Crown in recent years.
Sierra Leone's sire, Gun Runner—who took the 2016 Risen Star and Louisiana Derby—was third in that year's Kentucky Derby. His steady improvement into his 4-year-old season would make him Horse of the Year in 2017. Now one of the top sires in North America, Gun Runner stands for $250,000 at Three Chimneys Farm in Central Kentucky.
Bred in Kentucky by Debby Oxley, Sierra Leone is out of the grade 1-winning Malibu Moon mare Heavenly Love.
