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Fierceness – Sierra Leone – Forever Young
By: Jessica Paquette
How He Got Here
Catching Freedom is no stranger to Churchill Downs – he made his first start underneath the Twin Spires as a two-year-old with a professional debut victory. After an unlucky, traffic-laden trip in his second start, he made his three-year-old debut a winning one with a handy performance in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn. From there, he took the show on the road to Louisiana and finished third behind the buzz-worthy Sierra Leone in the Risen Star. He stamped his ticket to Louisville with an authoritative win in the Louisiana Derby in a visually impressive performance from last to first.
How He Fits Here
Catching Freedom has already shown that he can run his race with some traffic and adversity. That professionalism is only going to benefit him with nineteen rivals to contend with but he is going to be at the mercy of working out the right trip and getting the right pace. He has proven he can be competitive on a sloppy track as well as on a fast track and he comes into this race battle tested.
Connections and Pedigree
Trainer Brad Cox has one Kentucky Derby win on his impressive resume but that came after the race when Medina Spirit was disqualified and Mandaloun moved up for the win so has never gotten to enjoy the full winner’s circle post-race celebration. He was third with Essential Quality (2021) and Angel of Empire (2023). Jockey Flavien Prat was aboard Country House (2019) when the colt was placed first in the Run for the Roses via disqualification.
Catching Freedom is a son of Grade 1 winner Constitution and out of the graded stakes placed mare, Catch My Drift, a daughter of Pioneerof the Nile. Two of his half siblings, Strava and Bishops Bay, are stakes placed. As a yearling, he sold for $575,000.
