With victories in the Risen Star (G2) and Blue Grass (G1) stakes and his only two defeats coming by a nose in graded races, there is no denying Sierra Leone's ability and competitive drive.
But his habit of lugging in during the stretch run has led trainer Chad Brown to make rider and equipment changes for the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1).
Flavien Prat replaces Tyler Gaffalione, who rode the Gun Runner colt in all three of his races this year. And Sierra Leone will be equipped with a cage bit, designed to give the rider added control for left-to-right steering.
"(The cage bit) is a bit that's a straight bar across in their mouth, and then it has another bar that sort of goes outside the mouth, under their jaw," Brown said. "It's not a severe bit, by any means. It gives the rider more control to steer the horse."
Brown said he doesn't know why Sierra Leone lugs in, but he believes his inward drift in the Kentucky Derby (G1) was partly a result of Gaffalione not switching his crop to his left hand at the top of the lane, as the team's pre-Derby plan called for. Brown said it also could have been magnified by the fatigue Sierra Leone experienced at the end of the 1 1/4-mile race.
"He tends to want to lean in a little bit, and in his two losses it was much more severe than his three victories," Brown said. "Some things with horses there's no logical reason why they do the things they do. We're just trying to get him to run a bit straighter the last part of the race."
Brown said Sierra Leone is a "very alpha-minded horse," and the key is to work with him.
"He's very manageable to work with, but he's very confident and very strong-willed. When he wants to do something, he's gonna do it. He's powerful. So we just work with him and we always try to channel him into doing what we want him to do," Brown said. "I don't know if intense is the right word, because when he does stuff, he does it with so much power and efficiency, that it's effortless. It's a rare sight."
Brown said he made the move to Prat based on his relationship with the French-born rider, who along with Irad Ortiz Jr., gets most of the barn's first-preference mounts in stakes races.
"Tyler did a great job with the horse. He won two point-qualifying races when we really needed it. But I felt coming off a loss, if we were gonna make a change in that area, this was the time to do it," Brown said. "Flavien is a very versatile rider. He tries to secure position early in his races. He does a lot of homework and studies his races well.
"He has won big races for us on turf and dirt and from any position in the race, from wiring a field to coming from last. He's a very talented jockey who, in a very challenging profession, makes a lot of right decisions, and we have good rapport with him ... and if Sierra Leone ends up at the Breeders' Cup, Flavien is a very accomplished rider at Del Mar."
