Kentucky Derby trail: Gaffalione is excited about Sierra Leone

Lexington, Ky.

Tyler Gaffalione has a full dance card Saturday at Keeneland, where he has rides in all 11 races.

He is particularly eager to have his first assignment for England-based trainer Charlie Appleby in one of the undercard stakes, but it is his ride on Sierra Leone in the Grade 1, $1 million feature that deservedly has the spotlight.

“It’s a competitive field, it’s one of the last (Kentucky Derby 2024) preps, and it’s the Blue Grass,” Gaffalione said. “Everybody wants to win this race.”

Sierra Leone stamped himself a favorite for his next start when he closed from ninth place, making up seven lengths in the slop to win from the clouds seven weeks ago in the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds.

Gaffalione never had ridden the 3-year-old Gun Runner colt before that rainy day. He figured he had a talented horse underneath him, but he still wondered what really would happen when he pushed the button turning into the quarter-mile homestretch.

“I did,” he said. “I was really excited, because like I said, watching his replays, you could see him explode. So you knew it was there, ... and it was everything I expected it to be and more. I still think there’s a lot left in the tank.”

This weekend Sierra Leone will be asked to go 1 1/8 miles for the third time in a row and for the second time against Dornoch, who won by a nose when they met Dec. 2 in a muddy renewal of the Remsen (G2). Unlike the last two starts, the Blue Grass will be run on a fast track with the expectation for a cool, sunny day at Keeneland.

“He’s just an incredibly talented racehorse,” said Gaffalione, who spoke on Horse Racing Nation’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. “It seems like he runs on anything. I watched him train here the past couple days. He looked great getting over the track, so I’m very excited.”

The bigger question might not be how Sierra Leone may perform in good weather but how his 10 rivals may be advantaged by having a dry racecourse.

“It’s something that obviously crosses your mind, but you try not to look into it too much,” Gaffalione said. “You have to ride the race as it comes up and just take each circumstance as it is.”

Close to the vest as most jockeys are in talking about strategy for an upcoming race, Gaffalione said he does not expect to get too many orders from trainer Chad Brown before the Blue Grass.

“To be honest, Chad doesn’t give too many instructions,” Gaffalione said. “He’ll kind of give you an idea of how the horse has been doing and kind of go from there. I’m sure we won’t be switching up too much this week.”

“I told Tyler to keep him out of trouble,” Brown said right after the Risen Star. “He had a minor stumble but was able to get him into the race and in the clear off the rail. I told him to stay outside and keep him straight. Given the track conditions and slow pace and that he hasn’t run since the Remsen, I thought he showed a lot to run down a pretty good horse who was in form and fit and didn’t have to ship. This proved a lot to me today.”

One question Gaffalione will have while the race unfolds is who will set the pace, and who will press it. He knows he will not. Dornoch, the winner of the Fountain of Youth (G2) last month that was decimated by late scratches, is likely to break out front early. Just a Touch, who finished a wide second last month in the Gotham (G3), could be stalking.

“Just kind of let him get out there and do his thing,” Gaffalione said. “Try not to get in his way too much. Trying to be more of a passenger for him and just help him out through the lane. He knows what he’s doing. ... I really just don’t want to take him out of his comfort zone,” Gaffalione said. “It’s really up to him, wherever he’s comfortable. That’s where we’ll be.”

With 55 qualifying points, Sierra Leone has not yet mathematically clinched his place in the Derby, but his position seems safe. A top-five finish Saturday will assure him of an invitation to run for the roses. Gaffalione would be looking at his seventh Derby and hoping he will finish in the money for the first time.

Before that, his busy Saturday will include his assignment in the $350,000 Shakertown (G2) turf sprint on 7-2 morning-line favorite Mischief Magic, the homebred Godolphin 4-year-old who Appleby is shipping back to Keeneland. It was nearly 1 1/2 years ago when William Buick rode the son of Exceed and Excel to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. That was over the same 5 1/2 furlongs where Gaffalione has the ride Saturday.

“I went back and watched the replay from the Breeders’ Cup,” Gaffalione said. “It was his one race here in America, so it was good to have a better understanding of what he was running against.”

Gaffalione said his homework took him to Mischief Magic’s last race Feb. 17, when he finished a close third to Emaraaty Ana in the Dukhan Sprint (G3) in Doha, Qatar.

“We ran against her with Caravel here at Keeneland,” Gaffalione said. “The horse holds good form. In his first start off a layoff, he won (a Feb. 2 handicap) in Meydan. He ran a very good race and came back with that good, solid, third-place finish. He’s definitely on the improve, and it looks like he’s in the right direction.”

Gaffalione, 29, is headed that way, too. He is coming off a career year when he got his first Kentucky Oaks (G1) win on Pretty Mischievous and was named a finalist for an Eclipse Award. Led by Sierra Leone, he has ridden seven graded-stakes winners this year. He also walked away from a heel-clipping incident at Gulfstream Park a month ago when he was thrown from his mount.

“Unfortunately that’s part of the business,” he said, “but we were able to bounce back. Nothing serious. No major injuries, so it was good. ... A lot of young horses coming up. Some really promising, young 3-year-olds. We’ve seen a couple of them, but it’s a very exciting time of the year. You never know what can happen.”