Tag: Sierra Leone

Sale-Topping Sierra Leone ‘Guns’ To Rising Stardom

When you sell for a sale-topping $2.3m as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's New York Saratoga Sale to connections like White Birch Farm and M. V. Magnier, the expectations are going to be sky high. And while Sierra Leone (c, 2, Gun Runner–Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon) proved he still has a lot to learn but still showed enough ability in the end to graduate at first asking and become the latest 'TDN Rising Star' for Three Chimney's super-stallion Gun Runner.

Facing a field of mostly more experienced runners, the 3-1 shot had to contend with another million-dollar purchase in Change of Command (Into Mischief) from the inside along with the younger half-brother to dual GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody's Wish in Hunt Ball (Into Mischief). A step slow from a middle gate, Sierra Leone was quickly outrun into the opening furlong and dropped back to beat only runner while taking dirt from nearly the entire field. Caught in tight quarters into the turn in this one-mile event, he had to back out and faced a wall of horses with a quarter mile to run. Jockey Manny Franco moved to angle his mount to the outside but Sierra Leone ducked out sharply on the wrong lead, lugged back in toward the rail and then drifted back out before finally swapping leads right at the furlong marker. Finally in the clear, he came sweeping past the inside leaders and won going away despite still needing to be straightened out when passing horses.

The second foal out of GI Darley Alcibiades S. winner Heavenly Love, Seirra Leone is from the extended female family of Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) and from a third dam that also produced the dams of no fewer than three Group winners in Japan. The dam's yearling Nyquist colt brought $250,000 at last month's Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale and she returned to Gun Runner for a full-sibling to Sierra Leone in 2024.

7th-Aqueduct, $85,000, Msw, 11-4, 2yo, 1m, 1:36.94, ft, 1 1/4 lengths.
SIERRA LEONE, c, 2, 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
Sales History: $2,300,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $46,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Mrs John Magnier, Michael B Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, LLC and Peter M. Brant; B-Debby M. Oxley (KY); T-Chad C. Brown.

 

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Saturday’s Insights: Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Topper ‘Gunning’ For Debut Score

7th-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, post time: 3:20 p.m.
While the focus of the Thoroughbred world Saturday afternoon will rightly be on Santa Anita, SIERRA LEONE (Gun Runner), the $2.3-million topper out of the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, provides ample reason to click over to the Aqueduct feed between the running of the Filly and Mare Turf and Filly and Mare Sprint. The Mar. 31 foal was bred by Debby Oxley and is a son of her homebred 2017 GI Darley Alcibiades S. romper Heavenly Love (Malibu Moon). There was activity in the colt's second dam just Friday, when Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), a 2-year-old son of Heavenly Love's GII Santa Ynez S.-winning half-sister Forever Darling (Congrats), took out the Listed JBC Nisai Yushun at Mombetsu Racecourse in Japan. The Grade I-winning third dam Roamin Rachel (Mining) produced Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn) (Sunday Silence). Among the opposition is fellow firster and $600,000 Keeneland September grad Tuscan Gold (Medaglia d'Oro), whose dam Valdorna (Curlin) was second in the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and won the 2018 GIII Doubledogdare S. TJCIS PPs

 

 

 

5th-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 2:00 p.m. ET
JUST JULES (Justify), a $1.05-million KEESEP yearling, is the latest to the races from the Grade II-placed juvenile Fully Living (Unbridled's Song), already the dam of MGSP Untreated (Nyquist) and Ballet Dancing (Medaglia d'Oro), last-out winner of the grassy GIII Santa Ana S. at Santa Anita. Fully Living is a half-sister to this year's GIII Canadian Derby victor Abeliefinthislivin (Arrogate, while champion and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Halfbridled (Unbridled) appears in the third dam. A $600,000 FTSAUG purchase, Hollywood Dream (Uncle Mo) is out of Miss Hollywood (Malibu Moon), a stakes-winning daughter of George Krikorian's MGISW Hollywood Story (Wild Rush), whose son Honor A. P. (Honor Code) won the 2020 GI Santa Anita Derby. Public Assembly (More Than Ready), a $100,000 in-utero purchase at KEENOV in 2020 before fetching $300,000 at KEESEP, is out of a full-sister to MGSW Csaba (Kitten's Joy) and SW & GISP Kitten's Queen. TJCIS PPs

7th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 4:55 p.m. ET
GIVE ME A REASON (Justify) draws the rail for this first trip to the races and is out of the Grade I-winner and outstanding producer Dream of Summer (Siberian Summer), whose offspring include Grade I-winning juvenile Creative Cause (Giant's Causeway), MGSW and GI Belmont S. runner-up Destin (Giant's Causeway), GISW Vexatious (Giant's Causeway) and GSP Summer Promise (Uncle Mo). Give Me a Reason cost $500,000 at Keeneland last fall. Godolphin's Knightsbridge (Nyquist), a homebred half-brother to GISW Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), is out of an unraced daughter of 2006 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff upsetter Round Pond (Awesome Again). TJCIS PPs

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