The victory, on the back of an equally decisive score in the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds Feb. 17, sets up a titanic clash of 'TDN Rising Stars' in the $5-million GI Kentucky Derby in a month's time with Eclipse champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light), a far handier sort possessed of a high cruising speed that can be difficult to reel in.

Sierra Leone was to be the last to load in gate 10, but he proved a bit difficult to handle, delaying the start of the Blue Grass by about three minutes. A bit easy in the market, having touched 6-5 before leaving the gates at odds just north of 8-5, the $2.3-million topper from the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale was perhaps a half-step slow to begin, but slid down to race one off the inside and last but one into the first turn as stablemate Top Conor (Twirling Candy)–himself a $1-million OBS March breezer–cut out sharp fractions of :23.15 and :46.48 while tracked intently by recent GIII Gotham S. runner-up Just a Touch (Justify). Unhurried and patiently handled at the tail by Tyler Gaffalione, Sierra Leone raced well out into the track while taking plenty of dirt down the backstretch and still had a double-digit gap to bridge as the Blue Grass field entered the final half-mile.

Wisely angled back down towards the inside for a two-path run around the far turn, Sierra Leone began pick off rivals and was steered outside of Be You (Curlin) and about five deep into the lane. Just a Touch hit the front in upper stretch as inexperience caught up with Top Conor, but the lead was short-lived, as Sierra Leone gathered him up with relative ease while lugging in a bit entering the final sixteenth of a mile and strode clear. Epic Ride (Blame), a latest runner-up in the John Battaglia S. Mar. 2 and trying the dirt for the first time in his five-race career, was a very good third, while Dornoch (Good Magic) failed to capitalize on a box-seat trip and was an even fourth, 6 1/2 lengths behind Sierra Leone, who he had famously beaten a nose in last year's GII Remsen S.

“He didn't break the sharpest, but it actually gave me time to get over and save some ground into the first turn,” said Gaffalione. “He took the dirt just fine. Down the backside he got into a great rhythm. From the five-eighths pole on, he was moving like a winner. I was able to save some ground into the second turn, pop him out, and he just has so much talent.”

Added trainer Chad Brown, winning a third Blue Grass: “We're just trying to maintain pretty much the way he's been his whole life, a special horse. I don't know if they ever fully figure it out, but he's only had a handful of starts. But there's such good chemistry with Tyler and Sierra Leone his last two starts. You can see he wants to lean in a little bit, but it's never too bad. He's still polishing off his experience and his skills, and I just think a mile-and-a-quarter won't be a problem going forward. We're looking forward to it.”

Trainer Danny Gargan is far from willing to give up on Dornoch, the full-brother to last year's Derby winner Mage.

“He went really well. He got in there behind,” the trainer said. “It's his first time really getting a lot of dirt like that, he resented it a little bit early, [jockey] Luis [Saez] said. He said he kind of ran away from the horses. Next time, we'll break him out of [the starting gate on the lead] and keep his face clean, and he'll run better next time.

Accorded 'Rising Star' status after overcoming an eventful journey to graduate over Aqueduct's one-turn mile at first asking on Breeders' Cup Saturday, Nov. 4, Sierra Leone looked all but home after a heroic rally in the Remsen, only to have Dornoch come back on him at the post. Opting for the long Fair Grounds stretch for his sophomore debut in the Risen Star, he was as many as 10 off the inside in upper stretch and powered home to best Track Phantom (Quality Road) and next-out GII Louisiana Derby winner Catching Freedom (Constitution) by a half-length with blinkers on for the first time.

Pedigree Notes:

Sierra Leone is the eighth elite-level winner for his leading fourth-crop sire and is the only winner from his dam, who carried the silks of breeder Debby Oxley to victory in this track's GI Darley Alcibiades S. in 2017.

Heavenly Love is a daughter of Darling My Darling, a $300,000 Keeneland September purchase by John Oxley in 1998 who won the Doubledogdare S. and Raven Run S. in Lexington while also placing in the GI Frizette S. and GI Matron S. Darling My Darling is also the dam of 2016 GII Santa Ynez S. winner Forever Darling (Congrats), whose son Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) is the top 3-year-old dirt horse in Japan and followed up on a narrow victory in the G3 Saudi Derby Feb. 24 with success in the Mar. 30 G2 UAE Derby for trainer Yoshito Yahagi, stamping his own ticket to Louisville. Sierra Leone's Grade I-winning third dam also produced Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn) (Sunday Silence).

Heavenly Love foaled a colt by Nyquist in 2022 and produced a full-sister to Sierra Leone Feb. 11.

Saturday, Keeneland
TOYOTA BLUE GRASS S.-GI, $995,782, Keeneland, 4-6, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:50.08, ft.
1–SIERRA LEONE, 123, c, 3, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Heavenly Love (GISW, $346,200), by Malibu Moon
2nd Dam: Darling My Darling, by Deputy Minister
3rd Dam: Roamin Rachel, by Mining
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($2,300,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Peter M. Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook T. Smith; B-Debby M. Oxley (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $581,250. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, $918,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Just a Touch, 123, c, 3, Justify–Touching Beauty, by Tapit. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($170,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP; $125,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $300,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Qatar Racing, LLC, Resolute Racing and Marc Detampel; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $187,500.
3–Epic Ride, 123, c, 3, Blame–Pick a Time, by Gio Ponti. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($160,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Welch Racing LLC; B-Fred W. Hertrich (KY); T-John Ennis. $93,750.
Margins: 1HF, 3 3/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.66, 3.31, 51.37.
Also Ran: Dornoch, Mugatu, Top Conor, Seize the Grey, Be You, Lat Long, Good Money. Scratched: Encino.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

#10 SIERRA LEONE ($5.32) explodes down the stretch to win Keeneland's $1,000,000 Blue Grass Stakes (G1)!@Tyler_Gaff gave the son of @Three_Chimneys's Gun Runner a perfectly-timed ride for trainer Chad Brown. Congratulations to the connections! pic.twitter.com/giC8STcap4

— TVG (@TVG) April 6, 2024

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Dornoch dug back gamely to defeat Sierra Leone in a heart-stopping renewal of the GII Remsen S. at a rain-soaked Aqueduct Dec. 2, then took care of business in a scratched-down GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Mar. 2. Sierra Leone, meanwhile, returned with an excellent come-from-behind victory over a sloppy surface at Fair Grounds in the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 17.

The Blue Grass field of 11 also includes the Brad Cox-trained duo of GIII Gotham S. Mar. 2 runner-up Just a Touch (Justify) and John Battaglia Memorial S. Mar. 2 winner Encino (Nyquist).

“Just at Touch is a very talented horse,” Cox said. “He's shown talent from day one. He was a little late to get to the races, but it was by design. (Dornoch and Sierra Leone) got to the races a little bit earlier, so obviously they have more seasoning. I think this horse is one of our better 3-year-olds. I'm excited against running against these colts. It's a Grade I with very talented horses. It looks to be one of the better Derby preps to date.”

A pair of unbeatens–'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic (Liam's Map) and Tuscan Sky (Vino Rosso)–lead a field of 13 set for the GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct.

Deterministic, an eye-catching debut winner going seven furlongs at Saratoga Aug. 12, showed no signs of rust resurfacing from the bench with an impressive victory in the slop over the aforementioned Just a Touch in the one-turn mile Gotham. Tuscan Sky makes his stakes debut after defeating the talented Nash (Medaglia d'Oro) in an optional claimer on the Risen Star program. Parx invader Uncle Heavy (Social Inclusion) returns to the Big Apple after upsetting the GIII Withers S. over track and trip Feb. 3.

“The Gotham was a very good race and a good field over a wet track–he handled the whole thing well,” trainer Christophe Clement said of the Wood Memorial 7-5 morning-line favorite Deterministic. “It will be interesting to see him going two turns. We'll just go one step at a time. You never know until you try, but his style of racing and the way he trains makes you believe he should stay.”

A pair of last out graded winners–Imagination (Into Mischief) and Stronghold (Ghostzapper)–share top billing in the GI Santa Anita Derby. Imagination posted a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure for trainer Bob Baffert while gamely annexing the GII San Felipe S. Mar. 3. Stronghold, second in the GIII Bob Hope S. Nov. 19 and GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 16, broke through with a win in the GIII Sunland Park Derby Feb. 18. Both colts have finished no worse than second in five career starts.

The Blue Grass, Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial all offer qualifying points to its top five finishers (100-50-25-15-10) toward the GI Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs has barred Baffert's trainees from participating in this year's Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks stemming in part from a well-documented medication positive found after Medina Spirit won the 2021 Derby.

There are also a pair of Kentucky Oaks preps on tap at Aqueduct at Santa Anita Saturday.

'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Carpe Diem), winner of the GIII Las Virgenes S. Feb. 10 and GIII Santa Ysabel S. Mar. 9, will put her perfect record on the line for Baffert in the GII Santa Anita Oaks. The field of five also includes Kopion (Omaha Beach), who reported home second-best behind Kinza last time in the Las Virgenes.

Life Talk (Gun Runner) will look to get back on track in the GIII Gazelle S. at the Big A. The GII Demoiselle S. heroine was a disappointing sixth as the heavy favorite in Tampa's Suncoast S. Feb. 10. Maiden of seven starts Where's My Ring (Twirling Candy) makes the trip from Southern California for the Gazelle following a longshot second in the Santa Ysabel.

Saturday's graded stakes also include a fantastic renewal of the GI Resolute Racing Madison S. The field of eight is led by standouts Alva Starr (Lord Nelson), Red Carpet Ready (Oscar Performance) and Vahva (Gun Runner). Keeneland's stacked Blue Grass program also features the GII Appalachian S., GII Shakertown S. and GIII Commonwealth S., respectively.

Saturday's graded action is rounded out by the GII Carter H. and GIII Distaff S. at Aqueduct and the GIII Monrovia S. at Santa Anita.

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GI Toyota Blue Grass S. – In a race billed as a showdown between the re-opposing GII Remsen S. one-two Dornoch (Good Magic) and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), don't look past likely third choice Just a Touch (Justify). The highly regarded bay ran to the hype with a powerful debut score for trainer Brad Cox over the promising $1.7-million KEESEP graduate Gun Party (Curlin) (he returned with another very good second-place finish Mar. 16) on debut sprinting in the Fair Grounds slop Jan. 27. He was well-backed at the windows again for his second career start and lost little in defeat finishing second as the favorite over another saturated surface in a deep renewal of the GIII Gotham S. Mar. 2. Just a Touch will finally get a chance to showcase his ability on a fast surface and has every right to take another step forward stretching out to two turns for the first time as well. He should be able to sit a perfect trip just off Dornoch and have the jump on the stretch-running Sierra Leone, who is the horse to beat off his impressive come-from-behind win in the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 17. Selection: #6 Just a Touch (7-2).

GII Wood Memorial S. – No knocks on the 7-5 morning-line favorite and impressive Gotham winner Deterministic (Liam's Map), but I prefer the fellow unbeaten Tuscan Sky (Vino Rosso) here. Like the aforementioned Just a Touch, Tuscan Sky has raced only on wet, sealed tracks in his first two starts. The gray finished up like a real good thing after a bit of an interesting journey (led early, dropped back to third on the far turn and leveled off beautifully in stretch to win going away) sprinting on debut at the Big A Jan. 13. He backed up that effort with another fantastic performance–albeit in a three-horse field–with a two-length decision over sharp next-out Hot Springs S. winner Nash (Medaglia d'Oro) (good for a 95 Beyer) while making his two-turn debut on the Risen Star undercard. Tuscan Sky tuned up for this with a four-furlong bullet in :48 3/5 (1/20) for seven-time Wood Memorial-winning trainer Todd Pletcher at Palm Beach Downs Mar. 30. Tuscan Sky's young sire Vino Rosso won this same race in 2018. Selection: #9 Tuscan Sky (4-1).

GI Santa Anita Derby – It's difficult to make a case against Imagination (Into Mischief), who will be the much-deserved Santa Anita Derby favorite. The $1.05-million KEESEP yearling has run well in all five of his career starts and has taken a nice step forward in his last two. He gave highly regarded Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Maymun (Frosted) all he could handle while finishing second in an optional claimer Feb. 11, then dug in gamely to secure a career high in the GII San Felipe S. Mar. 3. Should be well-spotted beneath Frankie Dettori either on or just off the lead. Selection: #4 Imagination (8-5).

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Dornoch (Good Magic) (post four), a full-brother to GI 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, is the second choice on the morning line at 3-1. Trained by Danny Gargan, Dornoch enters off a front-running victory in the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Mar. 2. Dornoch defeated Sierra Leone by a nose in the GII Remsen S.

“That's a good spot,” Gargan said. “He came out of the three hole in the Fountain of Youth and the Remsen. He will come out of there running and make his way through.”

Third choice on the morning line at 7-2 is Just a Touch (Justify), who enters off a runner-up effort in the GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct Mar. 2. Florent Geroux has the mount from post position 6.

The Toyota Blue Grass offers 200 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale.

Here's the field for the 100th running of the @Toyota Blue Grass (G1) on Saturday, April 6! pic.twitter.com/RmbtAvmLWJ

— Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) April 2, 2024

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Ocala horseman David Scanlon is not just a leading 2-year-old consignor, but he has also built an impressive list of training graduates for leading owners like Godolphin, Coolmore, Don Alberto, and Calumet Farm. In both capacities, Scanlon's operation is well represented on this year's GI Kentucky Derby trail. He was in charge of the early training of leading Derby contender Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and his Scanlon Training & Sales pinhooked GIII Gotham S. runner-up Just a Touch (Justify).

Whether he is training a horse for a client to race or one of his own destined for resale, Scanlon said they all start with the same training regimen.

“When we go through the breaking and basic training, pretty much everyone is on the same schedule,” Scanlon said. “Everybody goes through getting acquainted with the rider, getting ridden, from small round pens to paddocks, to big fields, to the racetrack. So that's usually our technique that we use and that's pretty much standard for all of our horses.”

Eventually the sales calendar forces the two groups to diverge in their training.

“With a lot of these racehorses, especially for my higher-end clients, these horses who are going to be late summer or Saratoga classic horses, we will plan their work schedules to start much later. Whereas, with the 2-year-olds, I will look at a sales date and then I start to work backwards from the breeze show dates. I want to start a couple of months away and say I am going to start my light schedules here and at this point, we need to be doing this with him and going this fast.”

Sierra Leone | Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges, Jr.

But plotting out a course for his pinhook prospects necessarily begins in the fall when Scanlon and his team are shopping at the yearling sales. Without the seemingly limitless budget of some of those high-end clients, he has learned what corners he can cut while still finding success the following spring in the sales ring.

“It's really hard to get everything for us,” Scanlon said. “The old saying, checking all the boxes, if they have a real high-end fancy pedigree, and they also have a great body and conformation, that's usually going to be hard for a pinhooker to buy. You are usually going to get beat by an end-user.”

Buying on a budget over the years has led Scanlon to accept certain conformational flaws, but always in the context of the entire horse.

“The one thing we always look for, say a horse's conformation isn't perfect, they may toe in, they may toe out or they are a little offset in the knees, you still want them to have a big, athletic walk and see how they walk through it,” Scanlon said. “Maybe we are going to buy a horse that is a little bit off-set in the knees, but he ends up walking through it really well. If I am looking at a horse and he is toed in, but he walks really well through it, I may forgive that horse. But if he comes at me and he has a lot of action in his walk–like a wing, as they say–that's not good. That horse may not be a good mover or a galloper, too. If they don't walk through it well, then they don't move as well.”

That winnowing process that pinhookers are forced to use at the yearling sales in the fall makes for outstanding offerings at the 2-year-old sales, according to Scanlon.

“Some of the best horse people I know have basically gone through and already short-listed horses,” he said of the pinhookers. “We look at thousands of yearlings all year and go ahead with what we've discovered as athletes. Year in and year out, you always see at the top of the standings, horses that the top 10 pinhookers have picked out. I don't think it's a coincidence that they are, every year, some of the best 2-year-olds in the country. It's our job and what we've done for a long time. We have done this so many times, we know what really works and what doesn't. Sometimes when you just have an open check book, maybe it means a little bit more to us, it's how we make our living. It's very important to know what works and what doesn't.”

Scanlon-trained colt by Constitution sells for $800,000 at last week's OBS March sale | Photos by Z

While innuendo and speculation continue to swirl around the 2-year-old sales, Scanlon said he thinks the sales companies have made impressive progress in regulating both the horses and their sellers.

“I think the sales companies are really doing a good job, especially in the last two years,” he said. “I don't think people are actually highlighting enough how far the sales companies have come with their medication rules. It was really a little more open a few years ago, but in the last two years, they have really tried to adopt rules that come along a little bit more in line with what HISA is trying to tell the racing public. Can you always do a little bit more? I am sure you can. And I think that is what they are working on. I do believe there is a lot of disclosure in the sale.

“With some of the stuff they've been talking about, like Clenbuterol, I just feel like that is something that doesn't have a place anymore. We don't even keep that on the farm anymore, for any use. It's one of those things that, with the way the world is now, it's just something we don't need to have around here knowing it's frowned upon and the penalties.”

Asked if there were any changes he would like to see, Scanlon said, “I think the sales companies not being so lenient on some of the guys who do have violations. Enough slaps on the wrist, if you have this many, that's it. You're not going to be able to sell. I do feel like some of the rules with people who have multiple violations will need to be more stringent in the future, just to give people a little more confidence going forward.”

And what advice would he give to potential buyers at the juvenile sales?

“I think the buyers need to educate themselves,” he said. “I think buyers need to realize, when they come to these sales, they need to do a little bit of homework, too, on the people they are doing business with. Spend some time, go through the results. To me, when you go ahead and open the TDN, or if you see guys who are selling multiple winners, guys who have been around for a long time and have sold a lot of winners, they have been established. Ask around and know who you are dealing with. Those are the kind of people I think you want to do business with. I'm not saying everybody doesn't deserve a shot to start a business, but some of these guys can be fly by night. You want to take your time with that.”

Despite the issues that still need to be confronted, Scanlon stressed it was important to appreciate the gains that have already been made.

“I think sometimes in this sport, we are facing a lot of challenges right now, but I don't think we always stop to look at how far we've actually come in the last few years,” he said. “I do think the 2-year-old sales companies are really trying to work together to improve the sport as far as medication and how it all comes together.”

To view the entire 2023 X-Ray Files series, click here.

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With a ton of steam behind impressive debut winner Just a Touch (Justify) heading into Saturday's GIII Gotham S., the second-place finisher's come-from-behind effort over a sloppy, sealed track that day at Fair Grounds may look even better after this weekend.

Off at debut odds of 10-1 for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Gun Party (c, 3, Curlin–Carina Mia, by Malibu Moon) trailed the field of eight beneath Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the early stages of the six-furlong affair Jan. 27.

Guided to the inside to race in fifth through an opening quarter in :22.25, the Three Chimneys Farm and Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer began to wind up with a rail run as Just a Touch gained command approaching the quarter pole.

Gun Party gamely split horses and moved into second as Just a Touch pulled well clear in the stretch. Gun Party finished with interest while posing no threat to the winner to cross the line a geared-down second, beaten 4 1/4 lengths. It was another 5 1/4 lengths back to the third-place finisher.

Gun Party earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The Brad Cox-trained Just a Touch received an 89 rating.

“That looks like a really legit horse,” Three Chimneys Vice Chairman Doug Cauthen said of Just a Touch, the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Gotham.

“We were very pleased and satisfied with (Gun Party's) effort because we knew that was a tough spot. Steve (Asmussen) had mentioned that he missed some time with him–he had gotten sick–and at this point, you're hoping that you can kick along and get into the big races. But at the end of the day, Steve's just letting the horse lead him. We think a lot of him. It's a great pedigree, a great cross and there's a lot of hope. But time will tell.”

Carina Mia | Coady

Produced by 2016 GI Acorn S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Carina Mia (Malibu Moon), Gun Party brought $1.7 million from these connections as a yearling on day one of the 2022 Keeneland September sale to dissolve a partnership.

Gun Party, the third most expensive of 60 yearlings to switch hands by the mighty Curlin in 2022, was bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm and Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc.

Third carrying the Three Chimneys silks in her career finale in the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Carina Mia brought $2.6 million from Japan's Shadai Farm at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Gun Party is bred on the same Curlin x Malibu Moon cross as champion Stellar Wind. He is also bred similarly to fellow Curlin-sired champions Malathaat and Nest as well as Curlin-sired GISWs Clairiere, Global Campaign, Idol and Paris Lights.

“There were a bunch of partnership mares with Hill 'n' Dale, and when that group (of yearlings) went to the sale, he was a key one that was targeted,” Cauthen said. “Ron (Winchell) liked him as well so he came into the partnership. Hopefully, that team will have some more luck.”

That team of Winchell Thoroughbreds, Three Chimneys Farm and Asmussen, of course, also campaigned 2017 Horse of the Year and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}). The leading young sire currently commands a $250,000 stud fee at Goncalo Borges Torrealba's operation.

“Goncalo is very partner-friendly and usually asks the partners to name horses,” Cauthen said. “Ron's team came up with Gun Party. Think he's hoping for another strike of lightning.”

Gun Party has breezed three times since his unveiling, most recently working five furlongs in 1:01 (4/22) at Fair Grounds Feb. 25.

“I think Steve's trying to decide which direction to go,” Cauthen said. “More than likely he's gonna run in the next couple of weeks, but we're letting him decide.”

The 'Second Chances' Honor Roll is headed by recently crowned Horse of the Year Cody's Wish (Curlin), fellow two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and GISWs A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo), Honor A. P. (Honor Code), Locked (Gun Runner), Paradise Woods (Union Rags) and Speaker's Corner (Street Sense).

#4 Just a Touch wins easy in R2 at Fair Grounds under @flothejock for trainer @bradcoxracing!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/tIRkpfOfEs

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) January 27, 2024

The post Second Chances: Gun Runner Connections ‘Hoping for Another Strike of Lightning’ with Pricey Curlin Colt Gun Party appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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