Sierra Leone (inside) and Domestic Product breeze ahead of the Kentucky Derby (Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire)
G1 Woody Stephens Possible for Domestic Product
Tuscan Gold’s Belmont Status Undecided
NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y.— Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook T. Smith’s dual graded stakes-winner Sierra Leone posted a five-furlong breeze in company with Grade 3-winner Domestic Product Saturday over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma dirt training track.
Sierra Leone, who is targeting the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 8 at the Spa, worked in his typical blinkers to the inside of Domestic Product as NYRA clockers caught the pair through splits of 13.28 seconds, 25.87, 37.95 and through five furlongs in 1:02.64 before galloping out in 1:15.78 and 1:28.64 over the fast footing.
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown said he was pleased with the work from both horses.
“It was good. It was just what I wanted – a steady five-eighths and let them gallop out,” said Brown. “I want to maintain where I’m at with the horse [Sierra Leone] and I’m thrilled with how he’s moving.”
Sierra Leone, who was runner-up in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby after a dramatic three-way stretch battle with Forever Young and the victorious Mystik Dan, sported a new type of bit – a cage bit – for his work Saturday in hopes of a more controlled ride.
“We’re experimenting a little bit,” said Brown. “I tried it a little bit in the winter, and I wasn’t sold on it, so we went with just some blinkers in the Risen Star and he responded well. But I’m thinking about tweaking a little bit – not positive yet – to give the rider some more control. It could potentially help a little bit.
“He’s never done much in the mornings, and sometimes it’s hard to recreate [afternoon issues] in the mornings,” Brown continued. “The horse had never had us worried about steering issues in the mornings. All we try to do is – as they show us more in the afternoons – is to be prepared.”
Along with a possible equipment change for the Belmont, Brown noted that regular pilot Tyler Gaffalione will not ride the son of Gun Runner in the 10-furlong test, instead opting for the services of Flavien Prat.
“Tyler, from where he was, worked out a very good trip [in the Derby],” Brown commented. “He paused a few times – in the first turn, he paused behind some horses who were in his way, and around the five-sixteenths pole, there were some tired horses who came up on him and he had to get around them. It cost him a little bit, but I thought those decisions were good. I’m moving forward with the change [to Prat] and we’ll see how it goes.”
As for Klaravich Stables’ Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby-winner Domestic Product, Brown said a cutback is likely for the son of Practical Joke after finishing a troubled 13th in the Kentucky Derby.
Brown, who won the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens with Practical Joke on a cutback three starts after a fifth in the Derby in 2017, said Domestic Product could be following the same trajectory as his sire. His next target could be the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 8.
“I’m not sure, but I’m probably going to cut the horse back in distance,” said Brown. “He’s possible for the Woody Stephens. Obviously Practical Joke was cut back late in the year and did good. We’re thinking about that.”
While Domestic Product will skip the Belmont Stakes, Brown could have one other contender in William Lawrence, Walmac Farm and Stonestreet Stables’ Tuscan Gold, who finished fourth in the Grade 1 Preakness last Saturday.
“I’m going to work the horse next weekend and then decide,” said Brown. “The work and how he’s bounced out of the race will let me know.”
The Medaglia d’Oro bay graduated at second asking in January at Gulfstream Park and finished third in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March ahead of his Preakness effort, where he made a mild bid from sixth-of-8 to land 8 1/4 lengths back of the victorious pacesetter Seize the Grey.
Also on Saturday’s work tab at Saratoga for Brown was dual graded stakes-placed Ways and Means, who covered a half-mile in company with Nikitis in 49.49 seconds with a gallop-out in 1:02 and 2/5. Just after them followed a solo work from multiple graded stakes-winner Carl Spackler, who covered a half-mile in 50 and galloped out in 1:03.58.
