As spring approaches, there’s been a sense of déjà vu in Peter Brant’s life.

It was 40 years ago when Brant notched his first – and only – Kentucky Derby victory as an owner.

Brant owned a share of Claiborne Farm’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Swale back then, and even after four decades the memories are still as bright and vivid as they were in 1984.

Swale, jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., trainer Woody Stephens (BloodHorse Library)

“I grew up dreaming about the Kentucky Derby and I’ve been watching it since I was 6 or 7 years old,” said Brant, who turned 77 March 1. “Swale was very special because it was a Claiborne homebred and I was a partner. It was great for the Hancock family, and I am still very close with them. I remember it was so crowded I barely got to the winner’s circle on time. I had no clue it would take that long to get there. It was a great day and I have the trophy on my desk in Connecticut and I admire it often…. When you win races like that you never forget them.”

Those fond memories of the 110^th Derby at Churchill Downs have been stoked lately as Brant currently owns one of the top contenders for the 150^th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve in Risen Star Stakes winner Sierra Leone.

Purchased for $2.3 million at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s New York select yearling auction, Sierra Leone is currently ranked third in the Derby Dozen, BloodHorse’s ranking of the leading Kentucky Derby candidates, and second in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top 10 3-Year-Old poll.

Also owned by Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook Smith, Sierra Leone was victorious by a half-length for trainer Chad Brown in the Feb. 17 mile-and-an-eighth Risen Star in his 3-year-old debut. A winner of two of three starts, the son of Gun Runner suffered his lone loss by a nose in the mile-and-an-eighth Remsen Stakes in his second start, when he rallied from last to grab the lead from pacesetting Dornoch in midstretch but lost his momentum and Dornoch came back to prevail in the final stride.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Brant said. “Sierra Leone has been very impressive. In September, Chad told me this would be my best 3-year-old. There was always a lot of hope for him. I thought putting him in the Remsen was asking a bit much of him for a second start, going two turns against more experienced horses. He galloped by them easily in the stretch, and it looked like the winner (Dornoch) was through, but (Sierra Leone) probably got tired and got caught.”

Brown, a four-time Eclipse Award winner, is searching for his first run for the roses victory and appears to have one of his best candidates for that coveted prize in the colt bred in Kentucky by Debby Oxley.

Sierra Leone at Payson Park. (Dana Wimpfheimer photo)

“Everyone who has been around this horse said he was the star of the group. He’s destined to do something great. He hasn’t done it yet, but he’s on his way,” said Brown, who said the April 6 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland will be the dark bay or brown colt’s final Kentucky Derby prep. “He came out of (the Risen Star) in good order and I love the way he is moving at Payson Park (the renowned Florida training facility Brant owns). The Blue Grass is next and he looks the part of a major Derby contender. I love where we are at.”

When Brant returned to the sport after a 20-year hiatus in 2017 and retained Brown as his trainer, Brown said Swale and the Kentucky Derby was part of their initial conversation. Brant’s last Derby starters in his silks were Gulch and Leo Castelli in 1987.

“Mr. Brant is not only one of our biggest clients but he’s a close friend and I’ve learned a lot from him. When he got back in the game, Swale came up and he said he knew it would be a long time between drinks, but if he could ever get back to the Derby it would be special for him. No matter how long the gap is,” Brown said. “He was clear it wasn’t the centerpiece of his operation. He wanted a diverse group of horses and a great breeding program. But he mentioned the Derby and I would love to be a part of this very rewarding moment for him and his family. It would mean a lot to me if Sierra Leone can come through on the first Saturday in May for Mr. Brant, who has been such a big supporter of our program.”

Sierra Leone’s status as a star in the making was confirmed at the 2022 Saratoga Sale when he was part of the Gainesway consignment and finished as the sale topper of the two-day event after highly spirited bidding.

“I would say he was so expensive because he was the best-looking yearling I saw that year at Saratoga, Keeneland, and maybe even Tattersalls,” Brant said. “Anybody could see how good looking he was. Chad really, really liked him. He said this was as good a horse as you’ll ever find in terms of conformation. Since we bought him, Chad has done a great job of managing him.”

Brown also raved about the second foal from the Grade 1-winning Malibu Moon mare Heavenly Love.

“We felt he was the best prospect there at Saratoga. It doesn’t always work out that the best prospect and most expensive horse turns out to be the best 3-year-old. But it seems like he’s been a star since the day he was born. At the sale there was no way to fault him physically. He has a wonderful pedigree. He’s a smart horse and he showed that way at the sale.”

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There was one hitch.

“The question was could we afford him,” Brant said.

So, to make the financial part work, Brant reached out to his partners over the years in several American- and European-based horses, the Coolmore team.

“I talked with M. V. Magnier and Paul Shanahan of Coolmore and they had him at the top of their list. So we formed a partnership,” Brant said.

He owns a 20% share in Sierra Leone. The four members of the Coolmore group and Smith have 16% apiece, according to Brant and Smith.

Brant, who was the driving force behind the deal, recommended turning the horse over to Brown, and the partners agreed.

“I am fortunate that Mr. Brant and the Coolmore team put together a team to buy the horse and directed him my way,” Brown said.

As good as Sierra Leone looked, his pedigree also commanded a hefty price tag.

His sire, 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, set a record for first-crop earnings, and he is the second foal from Heavenly Love, who won the 2017 Alcibiades Stakes. Her first foal and only other runner, Monegasque, by Uncle Mo, is winless after two starts, but her half-sister, Forever Darling, is the dam of Forever Young, recent winner of the Saudi Derby.

“His pedigree is an Oxley pedigree and they have been racing a long time and have had some good horses. He’s from that great line of female horses,” Brant said.

Brant at Saratoga. (Anne Eberhardt/BloodHorse)

For Brant, Sierra Leone is the latest purchase with an eye toward maintaining a top-notch breeding operation. With Brown, he has raced the female turf champions Sistercharlie and Regal Glory as well as numerous distaff graded stakes winners on turf, and he bought into Jack Christopher, a 2022 Grade 1 winner on dirt and a stallion at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud.

In time, Sierra Leone promises to enhance that blending of speed on dirt with staying power on turf in the 55 mares Brant owns.

“We are trying to breed to the best stallions in the world and we are not treating grass mares like they can only turn out grass horses. When you have Grade 1-winning mares and you breed them to the best stallions it gives you an edge. That’s always been my philosophy going back to horses like Gulch, Track Barron, and Mogambo,” Brant said.

With all-weather surfaces likely to become more prevalent in coming years, having grass in the pedigree of his young horses should also be asset to Brant’s stable.

“The synthetics are more forgiving in terms of soundness. These horses are so valuable you have to be concerned with the surfaces they are on,” Brant said. “We are talking about adding a wood chip straightway gallop at Payson Park.”

Of course, talk of Sierra Leone’s stallion career is extremely premature.

Of more importance at the moment is May 4, when Peter Brant will find out if the 40^th anniversary of his Kentucky Derby victory gets an exhilarating and unforgettable present attached to it.