Paladin Edges Chip Honcho in Risen Star, Secures Kentucky Derby Ticket

Paladin, a chestnut colt trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, rallied in the final strides to nip pacesetter Chip Honcho by a half-length in the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star at Fair Grounds Race Course, covering 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.14 and picking up 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to move to 60 on the leaderboard. The Remsen Stakes winner improved his record to 3: 3-0-0 and pushed career earnings to $484,250.

Chip Honcho set the tempo, posting fractions of 23.81 and 47.49 seconds while hustling to the front after a slightly slow break, and led deep into the Fair Grounds stretch. Paladin broke sharply, tracked the pacesetter, moved into position midway down the backstretch and then surged in the far turn and final furlongs, needing nearly every one of the track’s famed 1,346-foot homestretch to wear down Chip Honcho and prevail by a half-length.

Connections and provenance underline Paladin’s commercial and racing appeal. The colt was sold for $1.9 million at the Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Sale at Saratoga, is by Gun Runner out of Secret Sigh by Tapit, and was bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Equine. Owners listed include Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook Smith, and Summer Wind Equine. Brook Smith said, “It was an incredible performance today,” and added, “He dug in late to get by (Chip Honcho). He’s an incredibly talented horse. Hopefully, we’ll have him back in Kentucky in April then onto the Derby a month later.”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione capped a big afternoon with a Rachel Alexandra–Risen Star sweep, having ridden Bella Ballerina to victory earlier on the card in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra. Bella Ballerina, owned and bred by Godolphin and trained by Brendan Walsh, also earned 50 Oaks qualifying points and now sits on 60 Kentucky Oaks points.

The race awarded points on the standard 50-25-15-10-5 scale, with Chip Honcho garnering 25 points for second, Tempo collecting 15 points to move to 35 on the standings, Universe taking 10 points for a total of 23, and Carson Street adding 5 points to reach 11. Some reporting listed the Risen Star purse at $500,000 while one outlet noted $495,000; Paladin paid $3.40 to win as the 7-10 favorite, with reported payouts $3.40, $2.80, $2.10.

Chad Brown framed the performance in prep terms, saying, “The horse really performed well off a freshening, and he showed why we chose this race. He needed every bit of the stretch to get there.” The victory reinforces Brown, Gaffalione and the ownership team’s recent Risen Star success; the same connections won the race in 2024 with Sierra Leone, who finished second in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, bolstering the view that Paladin is a leading early Kentucky Derby contender with the pedigree and stamina to handle 1 1/4 miles.