Favored Sierra Leone rallied past the field and won big in the $1 million Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. (John Gallagher)
Favored Sierra Leone did not want to load in the gate when delaying the start for the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes April 6 at Keeneland Race Course, but once the gate finally opened, the talented colt had no reservations about racing.
Sierra Leone rallied from ninth to overhaul Just a Touch late in the stretch to win the $995,782 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths. Longshot Epic Ride finished third, 2 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up Just a Touch and 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Dornoch, the race's second favorite who settled for fourth. Mugatu finished fifth at odds of 181-1.
"He has so much ability, and he does things so easily. We haven't even gotten close to the bottom of him yet," said winning jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who attributed the horse's gate antics to getting worked up as the last horse to load on the far outside in front of a large crowd at Keeneland.
The top five finishers in the Blue Grass earned qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis. Sierra Leone tops the Kentucky Derby qualifying Leaderboard with 155 points.
Sierra Leone will head to the first leg of the Triple Crown with as a top-level threat following his visually striking Blue Grass Stakes win, in which he passed three horses in the final furlong of the 1 1/8-mile race. Such a closing kick would suggest he should relish the classic Kentucky Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles down the long stretch at Churchill Downs.
Sierra Leone was clocked in a moderate time of 1:50.08 for 1 1/8 miles. Lively splits of :23.15, :46.48 and 1:10.83, established by Sierra Leone's stablemate Top Conor set up his closing rally. Sierra Leone paid $5.32 to win.
Trainer Chad Brown notched his third Blue Grass Stakes win with Sierra Leone after prior success with Good Magic in 2018 and Zandon in 2022. Those two would finish second and third in their Kentucky Derby runs, respectively.
Asked if he felt Sierra Leone represented his best chance in the Derby, Brown replied, "I'd have to say so."
Comparing Sierra Leone to Good Magic and Zandon, Brown said, "This horse is just ahead of them, the way he's marching into the Derby."
Brad Cox, trainer of Just a Touch, is similarly encouraged by his 3-year-old's Derby prospects. He has safely qualified for the Derby with 75 overall points.
"I think he's got a big future," Cox said. "Hopefully, he can take a step forward in four weeks.
With 35 overall points, Epic Ride may need defections from the Derby Leaderboard in order to earn a start. Dornoch has enough qualifying points to gain entry into the Kentucky Derby with 75.
Twenty-three Blue Grass participants have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, making it among the most influential Derby preps. The last to do so, however, was Street Sense, who took the 2007 Run for the Roses after a runner-up finish in the Blue Grass over Keeneland's then-synthetic main track.
Sierra Leone races for owners Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook Smith.
"I am so proud to be an owner of this horse with this great group of friends," Brant said. "This is a great race, a great prep for the Kentucky Derby. It's always been a great prep, but I think this year it's especially strong. I think three or four of the nicest horses in this crop were in this field."
