After finishing behind Fierceness in the Travers Stakes and Jim Dandy Stakes, Sierra Leone gained revenge in the battle of the 3-year-olds in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.
The son of Gun Runner endured a frustrating run of four placings, including a nose second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont, since winning the Blue Grass Stakes in April.
Ridden by Flavien Prat for Chad Brown, Sierra Leone finished powerfully from near the tail of the field to defeat the favourite Fierceness (City Of Light) by one and a half lengths with Japan’s Forever Young (Real Steel) one and a quarter lengths back in third.
Coolmore’s City Of Troy did not enjoy his first try on dirt. After breaking slowly, the son of Justify finished a disinterested eighth.
It was not all gloom for Coolmore as the winner is owned by Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor et. al.
“I am so proud and happy for the horse,” Chad Brown said.
“He's come up short a few times and had some excuses. He's been so consistent and is such an honest horse. One of the best I've ever had. It's such a great ownership group. Everyone is just so patient. I thought we took a tough beat in the Derby, but we did it with class and respect and went back to the drawing board and worked on getting him straight. My team deserves a lot of credit along the way for working with this horse.”
A $2.3million Saratoga Select yearling, Sierra Leone advances his record to four wins, three seconds, and two thirds from nine starts with earnings of $6,008,000.
Bred in Kentucky by Debby Oxley, Sierra Leone is the lone winner from two to race for the Gr1 Alcibiades Stakes winner Heavenly Love (Malibu Moon) whose GrII winning half-sister Forever Darling (Congrats) is the dam of third placed Forever Young.
Heavenly Love has an unraced Nyquist 2-year-old colt named Domestic Policy and foaled a Gun Runner filly of this year before being bred back to Nyquist.
The Horse of the Year in the USA in 2017, Gun Runner stands at Three Chimneys Farm, where his fee is listed on application.
