Paladin, the Main Card in the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds

The son of Gun Runner is the standout figure in Saturday’s feature race on the road to the Kentucky Derby (G1)

Carrying the Coolmore colors, Paladin will seek to keep trending upward

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (Special for Turf Diario).— If the scene feels familiar, it’s because it is. A high-priced colt by Gun Runner, trained by Chad Brown, arrives at Fair Grounds to contest the Risen Star Stakes (G2) with hopes of igniting a campaign toward the Kentucky Derby (G1). Two years ago, that script featured Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) as the protagonist, and the outcome was memorable.

Now it is Paladin’s turn. This February 14, he will look to emulate the path that made Sierra Leone a divisional champion. That colt won the Risen Star over nine furlongs, followed it up with a victory in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1), and lost the Derby by a nose before capping his year in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) to secure the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Male.

“We did very well following this route, with a great performance in the Derby and nearly winning it,” Brown recalled. “So we decided to repeat the same plan.”

Paladin arrives with solid credentials. Undefeated in two starts, he is coming off a victory in the Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct on December 6. He shares several of the same owners as Sierra Leone—Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Brook Smith—alongside breeder Jane Lyon, whose Summer Wind Equine retained an interest after selling him for $1.9 million at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

The Risen Star, carrying a $500,000 purse, offers a crucial 50-point haul to the winner on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the highest points awarded in the qualifying series to date. Paladin currently has 10 points, though he ranks fourth in the standings among the entrants, behind Golden Tempo (Curlin), Chip Honcho (Connect), and Universe (Global Campaign).

Both Paladin and Golden Tempo enter the gate undefeated. The latter, winner of the Lecomte Stakes (G3), is trained by Cherie DeVaux, a former Brown assistant, and is owned by Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable. DeVaux has him stabled at Fair Grounds, while Paladin prepared at Payson Park, Florida, where Brown bases much of his winter roster.

The trainer highlighted several factors for repeating the formula: the Fair Grounds surface, the memory of Sierra Leone’s performance, and also that of Zandon (Upstart), who finished third in the 2022 Risen Star before winning the Blue Grass and finishing third in the Derby.

“We haven’t squeezed him as if it were Derby Day, but we believe he’s ready,” Brown explained. “He has a lot of foundation thanks to his two previous starts.”

Tyler Gaffalione, who also piloted Sierra Leone during his spring campaign through the Derby, will be in the irons.

Among the rivals, the aforementioned Golden Tempo stands out, as does the only other shipper, Courting (Curlin), who will add blinkers for Todd Pletcher after finishing fourth in the Remsen. He will be ridden by John Velazquez and is a full-brother to the multiple G1 winner Clairiere. Additionally, the Remsen runner-up, Renegade (Into Mischief), is coming off a win in the Sam F. Davis Stakes on February 7.

With recent history backing the method and a high-investment colt performing on the track, Chad Brown is once again betting big in Louisiana. If Paladin manages to follow Sierra Leone’s path, the Risen Star could once again be the jumping-off point for a championship-caliber campaign.