In 2024, trainer Chad Brown and owners including Coolmore partners Peter Brant and Brook Smith nearly won the Kentucky Derby with Sierra Leone, a Gun Runner son who later captured the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Looking ahead to 2026, the same team, along with co-owner and breeder Jane Lyon of Summer Wind Equine, is campaigning another Gun Runner colt named Paladin. Paladin recently took a major step toward Derby contention by winning the $250,000 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct, improving his record to 2-for-2 and showcasing his class and stamina in his first two-turn race.

Paladin, purchased for $1.9 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, is trained by Brown and ridden by Flavien Prat, who praised the colt’s professionalism and responsiveness during the race. Despite losing a front shoe and sustaining a minor cut, Paladin demonstrated perseverance and is being carefully managed as he recovers at Payson Park. As a promising son of Gun Runner—who will stand at Three Chimneys Farm for $250,000 in 2026—Paladin joins a strong group of potential Kentucky Derby contenders, with his connections hopeful to finally capture the elusive Derby victory.