Brown takes blinkers off Domestic Product for Holy Bull Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – While Sierra Leone certainly earned his way onto the Triple Crown trail by rallying from last to finish second in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes last December, his trainer, Chad Brown, had another horse in that race he hasn’t given up on yet.

Happy with the way Domestic Product has trained this winter at Payson Park, Brown entered him in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park where he will take on Fierceness, the 2-year-old champion, in a field of eight.

Domestic Product, a son of Practical Joke, finished fifth in his debut sprinting. Equipped with blinkers and stretched out to 1 1/8 miles for his second start, Domestic Product won a maiden race by 4 1/2 lengths on Oct. 27 at Aqueduct.

Domestic Product was a little headstrong that day, but even more so in the Remsen, where he sat an up-close fourth before retreating to seventh.

Brown is removing the blinkers from Domestic Product’s equipment for the Holy Bull.

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Brown said that jockey Manny Franco told him with the blinkers, even in the maiden win, “he was tugging on me, it took me a while to settle him down,’ ” Brown said. “He was worse the second time with them. He thought he wore the horse out in the pocket pulling and said we should take them off. We did and he’s training nice.”

Brown said Domestic Product has been training in company with Sierra Leone “and has been holding up quite well.”

Sierra Leone is being pointed to the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds.

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