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.
Sierra Leone now points to the May 4 Kentucky Derby presented…
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