Pedigree Profile: Sierra Leone
Diving deep into the Gun Runner/Malibu Moon cross that has produced both Sierra Leone and Locked
Sierra Leone has been all but perfect in four career starts, with his only loss coming in the Remsen Stakes, where he seemed to lose focus after making an eye-catching closing move and allowed himself to be passed by Dornoch. Since adding blinkers in the Risen Star, he’s put together two wins, including an impressive victory in the G1 Blue Grass Stakes this weekend, though he’s still showing some quirkiness - he was difficult to load and shifted in multiple paths in the stretch in this most recent triumph.
While there may be some concerns about his professionalism and his ability to work out a trip in a 20-horse field with such a deep-closing style, Sierra Leone is clearly an elite talent, and he could prove to be well worth that $2.3 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select yearling price.
Sierra Leone is a son of Gun Runner, who I’m sure my readers are familiar with, and out of the Malibu Moon mare Heavenly Love, whose greatest success came in the G1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland as a two-year-old. Though her first foal, the Uncle Mo colt Monegasque, was unplaced in two starts and has not been seen on the track in over a year, Sierra Leone has given his dam a G1 winner in just her second starter. This year, Heavenly Love produced a full sister to Sierra Leone.
Heavenly Love was out of the stakes winner Darling My Darling, who was twice G1 placed as a juvenile in the Matron and Frizette Stakes. Though Heavenly Love was her most successful foal, Darling My Darling also produced G2 Santa Ynez Stakes winner Forever Darling by Congrats - like Malibu Moon, a son of A.P. Indy - whose production as a broodmare in Japan includes Saudi and U.A.E. Derby winner Forever Young, who is also expected to contest this year’s Kentucky Derby.
Darling My Darling’s dam was G1 Ballerina Handicap winner Roamin’ Rachel, who also produced Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy, a G1 winner on turf in that country at up to two miles. Roamin’ Rachel was a daughter of the Mr. Prospector stallion Mining, who we touched on briefly last week as he is a grandson of the elite broodmare Impish.
The cross of Gun Runner with mares carrying Malibu Moon has been nothing short of outstanding in this early stage, with four stakes winners in just nine starters, including last year’s G1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity winner Locked, who is off the Kentucky Derby trail with a minor injury. Gun Runner has also produced Shotgun Hottie and Runninsonofagun out of mares by Malibu Moon.
Although Gun Runner would seem to have a particular affinity for Malibu Moon mares, the same cannot be said of his sire, Candy Ride. The cross of non-Gun Runner sources of Candy Ride with mares carrying Malibu Moon has gotten just two stakes winners in 46 starters (4.35%), down from 5.66% stakes winners in all 3,145 starters by non-Gun Runner sources of Candy Ride. The cross of Gun Runner’s damsire Giant’s Causeway with Malibu Moon is similar, with four stakes winners in 92 starters (4.35%), though this is a much slighter decrease on the 4.52% stakes winners by non-Gun Runner sources of Giant’s Causeway, and Giant’s Causeway’s son Brody’s Cause has G1 La Brea Stakes winner Kalypso out of a Malibu Moon mare.
It would seem that whatever genetic material Gun Runner inherited from his parents and grandparents has a tendency to combine with Malibu Moon mares in a way that neither his sire nor grandsire could so consistently replicate. This further piques my curiosity about this cross, especially with the sample size still being quite small - while there certainly appears to be an affinity, I’m not sure I’m convinced Malibu Moon is the key here.
If you’ll forgive me for sidetracking, I’d like to take a look at the other runners on the cross individually, since the sample size is still manageable:
Of course, there is Locked, who I wrote about following his Breeders’ Futurity score. Though Locked’s dam was just a minor winner, she was a half sister to G1 winner Gabby’s Golden Gal and multiple stakes winner Always a Princess. Locked was a $425,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm. Shotgun Hottie sold for just $45,000 as a two-year-old but is out of an unraced dam who was a half sister to G1 winner Sky Diva. Shotgun Hottie also shares her female family with Gun Runner as a member of Lowe family 17b. Gun Runner also has G1 winner Cyberknife out of a mare by family 17b’s Flower Alley. Runninsonofagun is himself a half brother to G1 winner My Conquestadory, so it’s hard to claim with any kind of confidence that the Malibu Moon influence is the only factor leading to these elite runners on the cross, although it is obviously a notable common thread between them.
Three-year-old Cartucho looks like he could potentially add another stakes winner to the tally in the future, as he was an impressive 6 1/4 length maiden winner at Tampa Bay Downs on March 24th. He is out of G1 winner Malibu Prayer, who has a multiple graded stakes placed half sister by Gun Runner, so the cross of this sire with the family is already proven. He cost $1.2 million at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale.
The final winner on the cross is Gun Runnin’ Gal, a winner of a $20,000 maiden claiming race in twelve lifetime starts. She was a $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling out of a stakes winning mare.
Contrabbanda was a $65,000 short yearling at Keeneland January 2022 and has not hit the board in two starts, although he has yet to truly drop down the class ladder, with a distant fourth-place effort on debut in a Monmouth Park maiden special weight before being defeated over 30 lengths in a $100,000 maiden claiming race at Churchill Downs. He recently put in his first work of 2024 at Sam Houston. Though his first two dams are unraced, his dam is a full sister to G1 winner Carina Mia and a half sister to G1 winner Miss Match.
Dollar Liberty was a $300,000 yearling purchase by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable out of a Malibu Moon half-sister to G1 winner La Coronel. He’s earned $18,440 and has yet to win in eight career starts, most recently finishing fourth in a $25,000 maiden claiming race at Gulfstream Park.
Finally, Oak Street Beach was the first foal out of stakes winner Lunar Gaze, whose second foal Princess Vino is a winner, though she was well-beaten in the Gazelle Stakes this past weekend. Oak Street Beach was a $335,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling who finished second on debut in a Gulfstream Park maiden special weight but has not hit the board in three subsequent attempts. She has not raced since a fairly close fifth-place effort in a $50,000 maiden claiming race on the turf at Del Mar last summer.
To summarize, all four stakes winners on the cross are either out of G1 winners, out of half sisters to G1 winners, or themselves half siblings to G1 winners. One of the two other winners on the cross is out of a G1 winner, and two of the three non-winners are also out of full- or half-siblings to G1 winners. Of the nine Malibu Moon mares with starters by Gun Runner, seven are either G1 winners, producers, or siblings to G1 winners, so Gun Runner has been getting primarily elite mares by Malibu Moon.
While there’s not enough data to draw any kind of definitive conclusions, this is just a version of the Gun Runner/A.P. Indy cross that has gotten multiple high-quality mares in a small early sample size - Gun Runner has gotten 13.95% stakes winners in 86 starters out of mares carrying any non-Malibu Moon source of A.P. Indy, including G1 winners Taiba, Gunite, and Society. This is still a solid improvement on the 11.5% stakes winners from all starters by Gun Runner, and falls in line with the broader Candy Ride/A.P. Indy cross. The cross of non-Gun Runner sources of Candy Ride over non-Malibu Moon sources of A.P. Indy is responsible for 7.25% stakes winners in 455 starters, including four G1 winners, compared to 5.66% stakes winners from all starters by non-Gun Runner sources of Candy Ride. Including Gun Runner and Malibu Moon, the Candy Ride/A.P. Indy cross produces 8.56% stakes winners and 1.34% G1 winners, compared to 6.08% stakes winners and .86% G1 winners from all starters by sources of Candy Ride.
While there’s still a significant possibility that the Gun Runner/Malibu Moon cross will prove long-term to be a more potent variety of the Gun Runner/A.P. Indy cross, I think it’s just as likely that as the number of starters increase, we’ll see that 44.4% stakes winners come closer to the 14% mark that Gun Runner has gotten with other sources of A.P. Indy - and in the meantime, I would be wary of overpaying for foals bred on this cross who don’t have the kind of elite runners in the family that Gun Runner’s stakes winners out of Malibu Moon mare do. Gun Runner is an elite sire who is going to move up most of his mares compared to their production with other sires, but until we have a larger sample size, I’m not confident this effect is amplified with Malibu Moon mares in particular.
Regardless of whether it’s due to a particularly potent nick or simply the combination of an elite stallion with an elite mare, it’s clear that Sierra Leone is a legitimate Kentucky Derby contender who should have no problem with the distance, considering the performance of runners in the family such as Forever Young and Zenno Rob Roy, and should be a force in the division for the remainder of the year.