Shrewd and her 10x winning full sister

We purchased our new broodmare, SHREWD, at the Keeneland November sale.  At the time of purchase, she was 6 months in foal to first-year sire RANSOM THE MOON.  It was the first time we purchased any animal at an auction, let alone an equine auction as prestigious as the Keeneland sale.  We recently transported Shrewd to Faith Farm and Foaling in Paducah, Kentucky, to deliver her first foal.  She is due April 28th (though we all know how accurate equine due dates are!), and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival. 

But this article is about Shrewd's full sister, SIERRA LEONA.  Shrewd is a 4-year old by Point Given, out of Clever (Smarty Jones).  Sierra Leona is a 5-year old mare by Point Given, out of Clever.  Shrewd never made it to the starting gate.  She was shipped to Florida to be trained by Todd Pletcher, but a bone chip ended her racing career before it started.  Calumet Farm decided to breed her instead of pushing her forward on the track.  But oh, what might have been for Shrewd . . .

Sierra Leona, on the other hand, has had a tremendous racing career.  Just a 5-year old, she has already won 10 races and earned $136, 235 (as of April 2020).  Her race record is 27, 10-4-2.  In 2020 alone, Sierra Leona is 4-for-4 ($39.330), all at Laurel Park in Maryland.  That success has led her to be claimed many times throughout her career, and was most recently claimed from Lacey Gaudet's barn.  She has now had 3 different owner/trainers in 2020 alone.  Her on-track success has come with a unique racing style.  Making a point to watch Sierra Leona ever since we purchased her full sister, Sierra's style is one I've hardly ever seen.  Sierra Leona has the propensity to show early speed, only to fall back along the backstretch.  While this usually spells doom for most horses, not for Sierra.  On multiple occasssions, she has revved it back up down the stretch, making one big run at the end to win races at the wire.  Quite a unique, but also stressfull (for her connections), running style.  I'd be interested to know how many other thoroughbreds out there run with her same technique.  Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 and the resulting quarantines, we don't know when we'll see Sierra Leona run again.  But you can bet we'll be watching when she does.

Sierra Leona's success on the track makes us excited for Shrewd's upcoming foal.  Ransom the Moon was a G1SW sprinter in California, and our small, family owned operation is looking forward to see what Shrewd's first foal will become.  We hope you keep following our posts for updates.

Take care and stay healthy!