The major skirmishes are now complete ahead of the Kentucky Derby, for which Sierra Leone is now vying for favouritism after overcoming adversity to win the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday [April 6].
A $2.3 million colt representing the Coolmore operation, this son of former Horse of the Year Gun Runner has been beaten only once in four career starts after this G1 success, which came despite his being reluctant to load and forfeiting ground at the start before a five-wide rally.
Sierra Leone got the job done by a length and a half and is now on offer for the Kentucky Derby at around the 3-1 mark with European bookmakers – the same price as Breeders’ Cup winner Fierceness after his recent Florida Derby romp.
There is also little to choose between the pair on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s Global Rankings, with Fierceness at #15 and Sierra Leone now jumping up to #19 (from #90, +237pt).
“He’s just a natural athlete,” said trainer Chad Brown, who has yet to win America’s greatest race. “I mean, look, he’s been a star since he’s been born. We’re just trying to maintain pretty much the way he’s been his whole life, a special horse.
“He’s still polishing off his experience and his skills, and I just think a mile-and-a-quarter won’t be a problem going forward. We’re looking forward to it.”
In the absence of the Bob Baffert team thanks to the six-time winner’s ongoing Churchill Downs ban, it is left to Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold (#49 from #209, +213pt) to uphold the honour of the West Coast.
The son of Breeders’ Cup Classic hero Ghostzapper (#7 from #10 among dirt sires, +46pt) has never come worse than second in six career outings, winning both three-year-old starts as he followed up victory in the G3 Sunland Derby with a game victory in California’s senior Kentucky prep.
Star of the show on Day One of The Championships at Randwick in Sydney was leading three-year-old Riff Rocket (#11 from #23, +63pt), now on the verge of the world Top Ten after adding the Australian Derby (formerly AJC Derby) to his G1 laurels, which already included the Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas.
Mind you, it was close-run thing – the Chris Waller-trained son of American Pharoah sliced through the field under world #1 jockey James McDonald in the Randwick straight but then held on by only a neck from the fast-finishing Ceolwulf. Riff Rocket is only the fourth horse to complete the Victoria Derby/AJC Derby double.
Leading sprinter Imperatriz (stays at #2, -19pt) is clinging onto the world #2 spot behind world leader Golden Sixty after coming only fourth in the TJ Smith Stakes. To be fair, though, she met a spot of interference in running and was beaten less than a length in a blanket finish behind surprise 20-1 winner Chain Of Lightning (#138 from #245, +108pt).
A five-time G1 winner this season, Imperatriz is now set for a break after flying home to New Zealand.
The Japanese Classic season began on Sunday as Stellenbosch (#54 from #714, +443pt) reversed two-year-old form with Ascoli Piceno by holding off the favourite in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas) over a mile at Hanshin.
Joao ‘Magic Man’ Moreira (#12 from #13, +60pt), who ‘did a Frankie Dettori’ last year by postponing his retirement, rode the winner – and the Brazilian was also aboard Masked Diva (#35 from #138, +205pt), who enters the Top 40 after landing the G2 Hanshin Himba 24 hours earlier.
In France, Godolphin’s five-year-old Tribalist (#42 from #107, +142pt) earned his fourth Group-race success when making all on heavy ground in the G3 Prix Edmond Blanc at Saint-Cloud.
Following a couple of recent defeats, Lucky Sweynesse (#8 from #10, +20pt) climbs a couple of places after completing back-to-back victories in the G2 Sprint Cup at Sha Tin. However, he was later reported to have fractured his near-fore cannon bone and will require surgery.
• Unlike traditional methods of racehorse rankings, TRC Global Rankings are a measure of an individual’s level of achievement over a rolling three-year period, providing a principled hierarchy of the leading horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and sires using statistical learning techniques. Racehorse rankings can be compared to similar exercises in other sports, like the golf’s world rankings or the ATP rankings in tennis.
They are formulated from the last three years of races we consider Group or Graded class all over the world and update automatically each week according to the quality of a horse’s performances and their recency, taking into account how races work out.
• View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires
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