Zipse: Like father, like son for returning champ Sierra Leone?

In comparison to his sire, Sierra Leone still has plenty to live up to. The son of Gun Runner is set to make his seasonal debut Saturday in the Grade 2, $500,000 New Orleans Classic, and I find it hard to be anything but excited about what we will see from the returning champion at 4.

A horse of the year and Hall of Fame performer as a runner, Gun Runner got better with age. He was very good from the beginning, but as an older horse he became a dominant figure at American racetracks. Since his retirement, he has become a top-notch sire, and Sierra Leone may be his best yet.

Sierra Leone returns Saturday in New Orleans Classic.

Similar to his accomplished sire, Sierra Leone demonstrated immediate ability. Handsome and well sculpted from his early days, he went for $2.3 million as a yearling due to a combination of his pedigree and his looks. He made his career debut in a one-mile maiden race at Aqueduct in early November 2023. and after a bobble at the break, he settled down and rallied nicely to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

With that limited experience Sierra Leone came back four weeks later to contest the nine-furlong Remsen Stakes (G2) and uncorked a sweeping move to take the lead in the stretch. The race favorite Dornoch came back at him on the rail, however, and the Chad Brown trainee had to settle for second by a nose.

As for Gun Runner, he was also an instant success on the track. The Steve Asmussen-trained colt was an impressive winner of his first career race in the fall of his 2-year-old season in 2015 at Churchill Downs. Six months after that good-looking debut, he already had won the Louisiana Derby (G2) and Risen Star Stakes (G2).

Gun Runner was one of the best 3-year-olds in the nation all season long. He was third in the Kentucky Derby and Travers (G1) and second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile before earning his first Grade 1 victory over older horses in the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs.

Sierra Leone did endure a losing streak during his sophomore season but came up big when it mattered the most. He won both the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds and the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland with a powerful and determined rally in his first two starts of the year but fell tantalizingly short in the Kentucky Derby.

Defeats, while still running well in the Belmont, Jim Dandy (G2) and Travers would follow. Overcoming a penchant for erratic stretch runs and getting his first strong early pace to run at in some time, Sierra Leone would put it all together in a decisive win against top competition in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar.

For Gun Runner his sophomore season was when he collected four graded-stakes wins but was far short of what he would accomplish after that.

After a comprehensive win in the Razorback (G3) at Oaklawn to kick off his 4-year-old season, Gun Runner traveled overseas to finish a good runner-up to the champion Arrogate in the rich Dubai World Cup (G1).

Returning to America, he was unbeatable the rest of the way. Dominant wins in four Grade 1s, the Stephen Foster, Whitney, Woodward and Breeders' Cup Classic, propelled him to a clear choice as America’s horse of the year in 2017.

Gun Runner finished off his excellent racing career with a big win in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) the following January. When it was all said and done, the son of Candy Ride won 12 of 19 career races with just a shade under $16 million in career earnings. He was welcomed into racing’s Hall of Fame as soon as he became eligible.

If you compare just their first two seasons on the track, Sierra Leone has done as much as his sire.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic victory was enough to secure a year-end championship in 2024, but it was after maturing when Gun Runner took things to a whole other level. His champion son still has his work cut out for him.

Just imagine, however, if the $2.3 million yearling purchase improves as much between ages 3 and 4 as Gun Runner did eight years earlier.

It’s plenty to ask of Sierra Leone, but the thought of the powerfully put-together dark bay maturing to a new plateau is a scary proposition for all the good older horses who have come back to race this year.

Will it be like father like son this year for Sierra Leone, or will Gun Runner prove to be just too much to live up to for his top son?

Let’s hope for a full season of racing for the returning Eclipse Award winner so he has every chance to live up to his sire’s lofty standard.