Sierra Leone

Track Phantom was one of the last yearlings that the L and N Racing crew looked at ahead of the 2022 Keeneland September Sale. The Quality Road colt from the Taylor Made consignment stayed at the forefront of their minds and they took home the yearling, who was the second foal out of 2017 GII Raven Run S. winner Miss Sunset (Into Mischief), for $500,000. "We just fell in love with him," recalled Michael Levinson, the racing manager and one of the four partners that make up L &N Racing....

The X-Ray Files series, now in its second year and presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association, uses conversations with buyers and sellers to contribute to the discussion on radiographic findings and their impact on sales and racetrack success. 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...

Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), winner of the GII Risen Star S., was the 7-1 favorite when Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday evening. Last year's 2-year-old champion Fierceness (City of Light) was second choice at 9-1. "All Other 3-Year-Olds" closed as the 11-1 third betting option. Japan's G3 Saudi Derby winner Forever Young (Jpn) (Reel Steel {Jpn}) (12-1); GII Rebel S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief) (12-1); GII Fountain of the Youth S. winner Dornoch (Good Magic) (13-1); GIII Gotham S. winner Deterministic (Liam's Map) (16-1); allowance...

GII Risen Star S. winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) was named the favorite for Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. The 'TDN Rising Star' is the 5-1 morning-line choice in the pool that opens Friday, March 15, per a release from CDI. Other top interests in the pool include GII Rebel S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief), GII Fountain of Youth S. victor Dornoch (Good Magic) and Eclipse champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light). The lone future wager for the GI Kentucky Oaks also begins Friday with 'TDN Rising...

GIII Robert B. Lewis S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) remains atop the leaderboard for week 7 as the NTRA's top 3-year-old in a poll released Tuesday. GII Risen Star S. winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) edged out Dornoch (Good Magic) for second with Timberlake (Into Mischief), Track Phantom (Quality Road) and Muth (Good Magic) also receiving votes. For the older horses, recent G1 Saudi Cup hero Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) took top honors ahead of National Treasure (Quality Road), Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and Newgate (Into Mischief).

We're at the two-month mark for the GI Kentucky Derby, and we're on the cusp of the major prep races getting extended to nine furlongs and beyond. Not all of the Triple Crown-caliber horses on this list, however, are pointing for the first Saturday in May. 1) NYSOS (c, Nyquist--Zetta Z, by Bernardini) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Baoma Corp; B-Susie Atkins (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $130,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $150,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $550,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 3-3-0-0, $216,600. Last start: WON Feb. 3 GIII Robert F....

Within the past three months, the purses for all three Triple Crown races have been raised. Paradoxically, this increase in prize money has coincided with a 2024 prep race season that is uncharacteristically light on emphatic, leap-off-the-page contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S., and GI Belmont S. The first weekend in March has traditionally served as a launch pad for sophomores who figure to excel in the spring Classics and beyond. Of all the prep stakes currently carded at 1 1/16 miles, the two that have historically...

Among the winners at the last Breeders' Cup, what was it that separated White Abarrio (Race Day), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}) from the rest? Answer: they were the only ones that had changed hands at an American yearling auction, respectively for $7,500, $170,000 and $3,500. Even that lavish investor in the yearling market, Mike Repole, won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a homebred. Except for a couple of European turf juveniles, the rest of the show was a parade of champions raised by "end users":...

Brook Smith, the co-owner of GII Risen Star winner Sierra Leone and fellow Kentucky Derby hopeful Hall of Fame, joined the TDN Writers' Room to discuss an exciting weekend.

The families and children who rely on the Backside Learning Center have a GI Kentucky Derby horse to root for. Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), the winner of the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds, is partially owned by Brook Smith, who is part of a partnership led by Coolmore. Smith has been a generous supporter of the Backside Learning Center and, through the Purses for a Purpose program, donates a portion of his earnings every time a horse of his picks up a check. Smith joined this week's...

Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), who captured the GII Risen Star S. Saturday, was the 6-1 individual favorite when the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 closed Sunday evening. The pari-mutuel field of 'all other 3-year-olds' closed as the 5-1 favorite. Other horses who attracted interest from bettors: Dornoch (Good Magic) (9-1), the GII Remsen S. winner and full-brother to 2023 Derby winner Mage; GI Champagne S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief) (15-1); GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile third Locked (Gun Runner) (16-1); and champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light) (16-1). Total handle...

Trainer Chad Brown has been down this road a time or two. In 2013, Normandy Invasion (Tapit) made his 3-year-old debut in the GII Risen Star S., having dropped a nose decision in Aqueduct's GII Remsen S. three months previously. Sent off the 3-2 favorite, the Fox Hill runner ran on nicely to finish fifth. Just two years ago, Zandon (Upstart)--also beaten by the barest margin in the Remsen--shipped up from Florida and also came with a stretch rally to round out the trifecta as a 7-2 chance. 'TDN Rising...