The Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) has been the goal for Sierra Leone from the moment she was purchased at the Yearling Sales, and she took an important step towards the $1 million feature with a game second in Saturday’s Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m).

A filly by Sun City, Sierra Leone showed plenty of promise on debut splitting subsequent race winners Cool Aza Rene and Abbakiss, earning herself an opportunity for black-type honours at Pukekohe Park.

The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained Return To Conquer was back as though unbeatable in the juvenile field and delivered on that promise, but Sierra Leone gained plenty of admirers, tracking the colt throughout and finding a tidy turn-of-foot in the finish, the final margin between the pair being 2 – ½ lengths.

Sierra Leone is trained by Hollie Wynyard at Cambridge, who was pleased with her filly’s efforts.

“It was a tough run, she was trying to foot it with the colt (Return To Conquer) the entire race and she was off the bridle and out of her comfort zone, but she was tough to the line,” Wynyard said.

“When he quickened, she got left a bit flat-footed and a bit lost going right-handed for the first time, but when she got to the 200 and picked herself up, she’s found the line really well.

“She’ll just have one more run before the Karaka Millions, obviously she’s in now, so we’ll find a nice race in between and hopefully she’ll be peaking for that.”

Sold from the draft of Westbury Stud, Sierra Leone was purchased for $130,000 by Wynyard’s former training partner Johno Benner, who owns the filly alongside Simon Barber, Noel Nicholson and Sam Pinfold.  

Benner has had a multitude of success in the past at Karaka Millions, winning the 2014 edition of the 2YO contest with Vespa and the $1 million Karaka Millions 3YO Classic (1600m) in 2018 with Scott Base, the latter while training with Wynyard.

“Johno bought her as a real two-year-old Karaka Millions filly, she had a lot of speed on the dam side and I think Sun City is the leading Australian two-year-old sire,” Wynyard said.

“She really appealed to him as a Karaka Millions type, that’s what the owners were looking for and that’s what it looks like she’s going to be.”

The fourth foal out of an unraced Dream Ahead mare in Flippity Lass, Sierra Leone is a half-sister to Inundation, who has won four races in Australia for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.