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The Week in Review: From Out of New Orleans Gloaming, Sierra Leone Splashes into Derby Relevance

'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) checked off quite a few boxes on his GI Kentucky Derby development checklist with Saturday's half-length score in the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds. In just his third career start, he handled shipping away from his home base, winning as the 5-2 favorite off an 11-week layoff, rating from mid-pack while equipped with blinkers for the first time, and racing under the lights on a sloppy, sealed and eerily shadowy track.

And yet, jockey Tyler Gaffalione still believes there's room for improvement–which is exactly what you want to hear if you fancy the chances of this $2.3-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale-topper on the first Saturday in May.

“He's a very special horse. We haven't even gotten close to the bottom of him,” Gaffalione told FanDuel TV's Caton Bredar post-win. “He's still learning. He's still green. You can see when he made the lead, he still wanted to lug in a little bit. But [he was] much more professional today. He honestly didn't hit his best stride until the gallop-out.”

After winning his one-turn-mile debut Nov. 4 at Aqueduct, trainer Chad Brown tried Sierra Leone in the Dec. 2 GII Remsen S., where the colt uncorked a sweeping, seven-wide move over a muddy surface that produced a heavily speed-slanted bias (five wire-to-wire and five on-the-pace winners). Sierra Leone sling-shotted to the lead, but bore in once it looked like he'd blow past Dornoch (Good Magic), who clawed back to the lead to win in the shadow of the wire.

It was an unfortunate loss-of-focus result for Sierra Leone, but Brown shrugged off the second-place finish and immediately suggested he'd equip the colt with blinkers to start his sophomore season.

The blinkers weren't intended to suddenly transform this deep closer into a speed freak. But on Saturday the equipment change did make a mid-pack trip easier to attain under the patient Gaffalione.

The second-favorite in the Risen Star, the 3-1 Track Phantom (Quality Road), was sent to the lead as expected, and Joel Rosario was able to milk a moderate tempo at the head of affairs, splashing through catch-me-if-you-can splits of :24.32, :25.35 and :25.07 for the first three quarter-miles of the nine-furlong race.

As a come-from-behinder, Sierra Leone might end up being one of those Derby hopefuls who is always going to be at the mercy of the pace and potential traffic. Three-eighths out, it became apparent that trying to reel in a relatively untaxed Track Phantom would be a good test of Sierra Leone's ability to overcome exactly that sort of adversity.

Going into the Risen Star, Track Phantom had won three straight two-turn races while controlling the cadence and then having to swat back legitimate stretch challenges, and he turned for home in the New Orleans gloaming still looking strong with the additional benefit of having taken no kickback at the front of the slop-spattered pack.

Sierra Leone takes a long while to unwind, but there was no panic in Gaffalione's tactics as he let his colt build momentum starting three-eighths out. Turning for home, Gaffalione was still content to be choosy about picking his path, spinning four-, six-, eight- and then nine wide for the drive, exchanging all that lost real estate for being able to get a clear shot at the hard-trying Track Phantom.

Sierra Leone was still four lengths in arrears at the eighth pole. But he sliced that margin in half a sixteenth from the finish while edging inward toward Catching Freedom (Constitution) and then Track Phantom despite left-handed urging from Gaffalione to stay straight.

With the line looming, Gaffalione knew he had Track Phantom zeroed in on his striking sights 50 yards from home, and Sierra Leone seemed to relish the task of inhaling that rival, striding out powerfully to stop the timer in 1:52.13.

Don't judge Sierra Leone's effort by that raw final clocking on a quagmire of a track that got more sluggish after sunset. By .66 seconds, it was the slowest Risen Star in six runnings (including split divisions in 2020) since the Risen Star got elongated to nine furlongs from 1 1/16 miles five years ago.

The winning Beyer Speed Figure came back as 90, which is more or less on par with the 91 Sierra Leone earned in the Remsen.

The timing to take note of out of the Risen Star is the fourth quarter clocked in :24.66.

For comparison, of the nine points-awarding Derby qualifying stakes run at 1 1/8 miles during the entire 2022-23 campaign, only one of those races (the GI Santa Anita Derby in early April) yielded a sub-25 seconds fourth quarter.

And the final furlong, during which Sierra Leone gained 2 1/2 lengths to win, was clocked in a respectable (given the course conditions) :12.73.

The Apr. 6 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland will be next for Sierra Leone.

“What we had planned on win or lose–but assuming a good race–is to use the Blue Grass as our Kentucky Derby prep,” Brown said after the Feb. 17 win. “So things went well today and we'll stick to that, but having the points is a nice-to-have in case there's a rough trip or something doesn't go according to plan in the Blue Grass.”

History could be on Sierra Leone's side in the Blue Grass. The last six times Brown has started a horse in that stakes, the results have been two wins, three close seconds, and a third.

But another recent angle–winning the Kentucky Derby off of just two starts at age three–could pose a historical hurdle.

After that game plan produced eight Derby winners between 2007 and 2016, horses with only two sophomore starts prior to trying their luck in Louisville have been a collective 0-for-39 since 2017.

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Saturday Insights: A ‘Top’-Priced Son Of Twirling Candy Debuts At Gulfstream

8th-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 3:37 p.m. ET.
For a $1-million price tag, Sean Flanagan secured TOP CONOR (Twirling Candy) for his stable at last year's OBS March Sale, which tied the colt for the fourth-highest at the auction and made him his sire's highest-priced 2-year-old in 2023.

Previously going for $200,000 during Keeneland September, the Chad Brown trainee is out of GSP Divine Dawn (Divine Park), who International Equities acquired with a filly by Nyquist in-utero for $285,000 at the Keeneland November Sale in 2017.

A full-sister to GSW/MSW Divine Miss Grey, Top Conor's dam is also responsible for 2-year-old filly Augusta Wind (Gun Runner), who Lauren Carlisle signed the ticket for $850,000 at the Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Divine Dawn foaled a full-sister to this first time starter last year. TJCIS PPS

6th-FG, $65K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6F, 3:25 p.m. ET.
Whisper Hill and Three Chimneys bred Quality Credit (Quality Road), a filly whose MGISW dam Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat) changed hands from the latter to the former for $4.4 million as the second topper at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale while she was in-foal to Tapit, will be unveiled here. Three Chimneys purchased Quality Credit's younger full-sister for $425,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale. TJCIS PPS

7th-FG, $65K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 3:54 p.m. ET.
Along the same Steve Asmussen shedrow as Quality Credit, Stonestreet homebred Mister Lincoln (Constitution) also makes the races. The colt is out of 'TDN Rising Star' GI Spinaway S. victress Hot Dixie Chick (Dixie Union), who produced a pair of 'TDN Rising Stars' in MSW/GSP Union Jackson (Curlin) and his full-brother SP Marsalis as well as GI La Troienne S. heroine Pauline's Pearl (Tapit). Hot Dixie Chick has her own set of talented half-siblings in GI Kentucky Derby hero Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) and GII Demoiselle S. winner Positive Spirt (Pioneerof the Nile). TJCIS PPS

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Gladwells See Potential in Chinese Market

Ever in search of new markets to conquer, Jimmy and Martha Gladwell landed on the expanding racing industry in mainland China in 2019 and, after making several trips to the Far East, the couple has hopes the country's importation of American Thoroughbreds will only increase in the coming years and help to build up demand in the middle market of the U.S. breeding industry.

“Several years ago, I was reading the Thoroughbred Daily News and it talked about how China had lifted the ban and were going to start importing American horses,” Jimmy Gladwell, patriarch of a family of pioneering Ocala pinhookers, said. “So I had the idea, for me and my family, to make some trips to China and see if we could drum up some business.”

On one of his trips to China, Gladwell met Zhiqiang An, president of the Hohhot Equestrian Association. The Gladwells, along with sons Jim and Ray, and their wives Torie and Meagan, and daughter Nellie and her husband Chetley Breeden, began purchasing American-bred yearlings on behalf of An to be exported to China at the 2019 Keeneland September sale. Under the name of the family's Legacy Equine Group, they purchased five head for between $33,000 and $55,000.

In 2021, LEG purchased 11 head at the September sale for An's Golden East Horse for prices between $12,000 and $70,000. In 2022, Golden East purchased 11 horses for prices between $12,000 and $72,000. In 2023, An's West Coast Equine purchased 12 yearlings at the September sale from $27,000 to $85,000.

“They like colts more than fillies,” Gladwell said of the type of yearlings that are on An's shopping list. “They are usually in the $25,000 to $60,000 or $70,000 price range. And they have gone a little higher on a few horses. Mr. An has a pretty good eye. He likes to look at the horses himself, as well.”

Gladwell continued, “He takes them home, breaks them, trains them, gets them prepared and he races them. When he gets home, sometimes he sells some of the horses to other owners.

He would like to bring some of those owners with him [to sales in the U.S.] and expand that part of it.”

In order to increase interest in buying yearlings in the U.S. to his fellow Chinese owners, An is in the planning stages for a race this summer that will be restricted to American imports.

“Mr. An wants to have a race in Hohot in August of this year and it will be restricted to horses who were exported from the U.S., so it will only be horses coming from America,” Gladwell said. “And he's hoping to have some sponsorship. He's talked to Keeneland and he is hoping to have some sponsorship from some of the stallion farms and some of the consignors, everybody who wants to make some contributions because he would like to have it be one of the richer purses they've had in China. And then if you put a bonus on it to where there is a Breeders' Cup-type of an American day at the races, that would be another added incentive for buyers to come. So I think it will generate even more interest in the American horses.”

Of conditions for the race, Gladwell speculated, “They are still in the think-tank stage, but it's probably going to be a three-quarter mile race, a sprinter-type race, on dirt and it will probably be fillies and colts competing against each other. My and Martha's goal is that hopefully it will be a minimum of $50,000 U.S. purse that they would come up with. Which would be a very big purse in China at this time. And it could possibly be bigger than that.”

With no pari-mutuel wagering, the purse structure on mainland China is limited, but Gladwell has hopes that if that changes in the near future, the demand for exported American horses will expand exponentially.

“They have talked about having pari-mutuel wagering on Hainan Island–which is an island on the south of China–building a racetrack and doing it there,” Gladwell said. “It would be similar to Hong Kong and if they did that, it would be such a great outlet for horses. Obviously, Hong Kong has one of the biggest daily handles there is and most of that handle is coming from mainland China.

“If that market opens up, then I think you will see a lot of Chinese come to America. They like the speed horses and the few that we have sent–about 50 of them–they have done very well and they are very competitive. I think there is a lot of potential there.”

While the purse structure remains low, quarantine and travel costs have tempered Chinese demand for American yearlings.

“It's expensive,” Gladwell admitted. “With the quarantine and the travel, it is about $15,000 per horse.”

Those expenses could be lessened by buying in bulk with the intention of reselling horses in China, Gladwell said.

“At a sale like [Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed], you can buy some nicer individuals,” he said. “We bought one here a minute ago for $20,000 and one for $30,000. So you can buy some nice individuals and I am sure you can take them over and have a sale. And [An]'s actually talked about it–trying to get a plane or two, maybe 100 head and having a sale. I think that could happen in the future. Late in [Keeneland] November, [Keeneland] January, and Fasig-Tipton February, you could pick up 30 or 40 head in that range that really need a home and we need buyers for that would be nice little racehorses over there because pedigree wouldn't make a whole lot of difference. You could take them over and resell them. We've kicked that around a little bit. But we are still letting this thing develop a little.”

As aftercare becomes ever more a priority for the industry, Gladwell said there are plenty of outlets in Inner Mongolia for retired racehorses.

“They have been working on aftercare on a few different areas,” Gladwell said. “Each of the racetracks have been developing aftercare farms. Mr. An, who is in Inner Mongolia, has been expanding that and developing a new facility for the aftercare and retraining program. He just loves horses and inner Mongolia is a horse-oriented country, it's just incredible. They are still so close to the horse. There is a heavy population of horses in Inner Mongolia and they have a great love for the horses.”

Gladwell continued, “Aftercare is so important to us as a family. We make a living with the horses and we want to see them taken care of and see them have a chance to be re-homed. I think that's important. I want our American breeders to know that when they sell a horse and it goes to China, it's going to be well cared for, have a good chance to race, and have a good chance for fillies to be broodmares or the colts to be stallions or hunter/jumpers–they do all types of disciplines.”

Gladwell has seen first-hand the other outlets for horses in China.

“Chuck and Lauri Givens, they raise a lot of barrel horses and we got over there [to China] for one of the major barrel races,” he said. “And here comes a horse with one of their brands on it. And then we went to one farm that had the national hunter jumper champion, so I had to get on him and ride him in the arena and jump him a little bit–luckily, I didn't fall off. We've had a lot of experiences over there like that. There are a lot of activities for horses over there.”

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Former Jockey Purdom Finds His Calling at TRF Farm

Dean Purdom never lost confidence in his riding ability. He knew he had the skills. What he didn't have were the results. Purdom bounced all over the country, going from track to track until he wore out his welcome and headed to his next stop. The problem? He was trying to do the impossible, find success on the racetrack despite having an addiction to alcohol and cocaine.

“I started back in the eighties,” Purdom said. “I had a really promising career. I was the leading apprentice one meet at Pimlico. That's where I got introduced to cocaine. It gradually just took over my life and, therefore, my career. I wasn't available mentally or physically, which you have to be to be able to do the job.”

In 1992, he made the decision that would change his life for the better. He entered a treatment program and has now been sober for more than 31 years.

Purdom, 65, went back to riding but never could jump start his career. He retired in 1997 with 371 career victories and moved to Ocala where he worked horses at the sales. But what he really wanted to do was to help people. He saw that as a requirement, exactly what he needed to stay on the right path.

“For me, helping people is a necessity,” Purdom said. “I have been in recovery a long time and a huge part of that is once you get your act together, to be able to keep it together you need to help others. In recovery, life can get pretty good. And when that happens it's easy to forget how bad things were. So helping new people is important. I've been able to help a lot of people along the way. But they were helping me, too.”

He has devoted his life to making a difference. The first stop was a job at Mending Fences, a mental health treatment center in Delray, Florida where equine therapy was part of the program. He might still be there if it weren't for a chance encounter with John Evans, who was running the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's program at a women's prison, the Lowell Correctional Institution. Purdom had met his future wife Niki after she left the Lowell program and when the two were married, Evans walked Niki down the aisle.

Evans was looking to retire and saw in Purdom the perfect replacement. Last May he took over from Evans, who had been at Lowell for 17 years. It's been an eye-opening experience.

“I had been driving by this prison for years,” Purdom said. “One day I was driving by with Niki. I had seen all these horses out in the field. I told her that the whole thing didn't make any sense to me. Why were they keeping all these old, broken-down pasture ornaments? I didn't understand the economics of that. Most horse people would have had that same attitude. She explained to me their true value and what these horses do for the inmates. These inmates, their self esteem is pretty much in the tank when they get here. They haven't had anything go right for a long time. When they walk into the stall, especially the first time, these horses will greet them. They haven't had something like that in a long time. They end up getting really personal with them. They start gaining some self esteem. They start to get their self respect back as well as confidence. It's all because of the horses.”

Having struggled with many of the same problems that led many of the inmates to prison, Purdom was happy to share his story with the women of Lowell.

Female inmantes in the TRF program near Ocala | Stephanie Brennan photo

“Probably 80, maybe 90 percent of the women who come here have addiction issues,” Purdom said. “They don't have meetings here for them. So I openly talk about my own struggles.”
Once he settled in at Lowell, Purdom's goal became teaching the inmates skills they could use to get jobs at the many farms in Ocala. Lowell is the only TRF program where the inmates are allowed to ride the horses. That's how Niki Purdom got started as an exercise rider.

With there being a shortage of help in Ocala, Purdom knew that the graduates of his program could easily find job at local farms if taught the right skills. The easiest way to find a job would be for them to learn how to prep weanlings and yearlings for the sales.

“The TRF allowed me to bring some yearlings here that were prepping for the sales, so the women got experience handling them,” he said. “That gives them a way to get into the farms. They can get hired and it's something they can do right away because they've been taught and have experience. This is something that can be a huge springboard. I know most of the owners and trainers in this area. I rode for them for 20 years. I can be a liaison so these women have an opportunity the day they get out and there's a job waiting for them. I want the local horsemen to call me and ask if there's anybody getting out.”

It's also a way to see to it that the women don't pick right up where they left off before coming to Lowell.

“If they go back to where they came from, the likelihood that they will stay out of jail is slim,” Purdom said. “What I want to do here is offer them an option.”

The relationship between the horses, the women, and Purdom, is mutually beneficial, and Purdom knows that he's getting as much out of this as anyone.

“At this stage of my life, having a purpose is pretty important,” Purdom said. “It's what gets me out of bed every day.”

To learn more about the TRF or to donate, visit www.trfinc.org

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