Some racehorses peak at an early age, flashing brilliance proper from the beginning. Others require extra time to achieve their greatest kind, maturing slowly over the course of a number of years.
However a uncommon few mix early maturity with regular improvement over a number of seasons, which is the recipe for a really unforgettable racehorse. In recent times, few horses have exemplified these traits higher than Gun Runner, whose early successes have been mere appetizers for the career-defining performances he would unleash as an older runner.
Bred in Kentucky by Besilu Stables, Gun Runner was born on March 8, 2013 at WinStar Farm. A non-public sale when Gun Runner was 2 years previous transferred the chestnut colt to the partnership of Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, with Corridor of Fame coach Steve Asmussen taking over conditioning duties earlier than his debut.
Whereas it’s tough to foretell whether or not any given new child foal will develop as much as obtain noteworthy racing success, Gun Runner all the time had the pedigree to be one thing particular. His sire, Sweet Trip, possessed the pace of an elite miler coupled with the stamina to hold his brilliance over basic distances. Undefeated in six begins, Sweet Trip achieved his most resounding victory within the Grade 1 Pacific Basic in 2003 at Del Mar, clocking 1 1/4 miles within the track-record time of 1:59.11.
Gun Runner’s dam, Quiet Big, was additionally a proficient runner, counting the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher Stakes in 2011 amongst her 5 profession stakes wins. As a daughter of three-time main sire Big’s Causeway (and a half-sister to 2005 Horse of the 12 months and Breeders’ Cup Basic winner Saint Liam), Quiet Big arguably counterbalanced the brilliance of Sweet Trip with a stable dose of stamina, giving Gun Runner the pedigree to excel on the highest ranges of the game.
Velocity … stamina … and willpower. These are among the key traits that elevated Gun Runner to greatness, and he confirmed all of them from an early age. Certainly, Gun Runner wanted all three to win his debut in a one-mile maiden race at Churchill Downs on Sept. 11, 2015. Underneath the fabled Twin Spires, Gun Runner tracked the early tempo, then tenaciously battled the size of the homestretch to prevail by three-quarters of a size.
Over the subsequent few months, Gun Runner ascended in fast trend. A fourth-place effort on a sloppy monitor within the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Membership Stakes proved to be his solely setback, and beneath the steerage of jockey Florent Geroux, Gun Runner posted winter victories within the Grade 2 Veterans Ford Risen Star Stakes and the Grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby to emerge as a professional win risk for the 2016 Kentucky Derby Introduced by Yum! Manufacturers.
Nevertheless, Gun Runner was nonetheless a piece in progress when the primary Saturday in Might rolled round. Although he ran effectively within the Kentucky Derby, ending third in opposition to a deep subject, he wasn’t fairly prepared for the large league. Following a post-Derby victory within the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes, Gun Runner endured 4 consecutive defeats in opposition to elite competitors, concluding with runner-up efforts within the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby and the Grade 1 Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Grime Mile.
However even within the midst of his shedding streak, Gun Runner was displaying one other worthwhile trait – sturdiness. Regardless of operating eight instances between February and November, the tough-as-nails colt was none the more serious for put on. On the contrary, he seemed to be thriving on his busy schedule, prompting his connections to take goal on the Grade 1 Clark Handicap simply three weeks after the Breeders’ Cup.
“He’s stored his power and his weight with the hundreds of miles he’s traveled this yr on the levels that he’s been on,” Asmussen stated in a narrative printed in BloodHorse Dec. 3, 2016.
The Clark marked a turning level for Gun Runner. Abandoning the conservative ranking ways he’d employed all through the autumn, Gun Runner and Florent Geroux went for broke in opposition to a deep subject of older rivals. Sprinting straight to the lead, Gun Runner dared his pursuers to maintain tempo. However none might reply the problem, and Gun Runner edged away by way of the stretch to win by 2 3/4 lengths, securing his first Grade 1 win.
“We had talked in regards to the truth we had possibly adjusted an excessive amount of to who we have been operating in opposition to within the final two races,” Asmussen instructed BloodHorse, “and in the present day to let individuals modify to him, simply let him run his race.”
Within the months to return, adjusting to Gun Runner would develop into a fruitless pursuit for lots of the greatest racehorses on the planet.
The naked statistics reveal that Gun Runner gained 5 of his six begins in 2017 whereas competing solely in opposition to graded stakes firm. However statistics fail to color the entire image. They will’t seize the way in which Gun Runner began off robust, improved because the season progressed, and in the end developed into an uncatchable pace demon, acting at a unique stage than his rivals.
Racing followers acquired a foreshadowing of the long run when Gun Runner kicked off 2017 with an easy 5 3/4-length victory within the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap. There was no drama by any means within the final result – Gun Runner by no means gave his rivals an opportunity to problem, carving out a fast tempo earlier than ending powerfully down the lane to win beneath a hand experience.
Gun Runner’s solely defeat of the season got here when touring around the globe for the Group 1 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline. After monitoring the early tempo, Gun Runner settled for second place behind reigning champion 3-year-old male Arrogate, a four-time Grade 1 winner on the peak of his capacity. However whereas Arrogate struggled to recapture his greatest kind after coming back from Dubai, Gun Runner appeared to profit from the transatlantic journey.
In reality, Gun Runner would by no means once more style defeat. All summer time lengthy, he showcased his expertise in opposition to top-level competitors, rattling off Grade 1 wins within the Stephen Foster Handicap, Whitney Stakes, and Woodward Stakes Introduced by NYRA Bets by a median margin of seven 1/2 lengths. Nothing might faze him; not even a weird incident within the Whitney when a rival’s misplaced horseshoe grew to become entangled in Gun Runner’s tail, trailing behind him like a flag for a lot of the race.
“I believe it was key taking our time with this horse,” Asmussen stated after Gun Runner crushed seven rivals within the Stephen Foster. “We all the time thought he would get higher with age and he’s proving that to us proper now.”
By the point the 2017 Breeders’ Cup arrived, Gun Runner was a whole bundle of pace, stamina, willpower, and sturdiness. He might have taken goal at one other run within the Breeders’ Cup Grime Mile, however his connections understandably selected to goal greater. Moderately than comply with a neater path, Gun Runner would hunt down a rematch with Arrogate within the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Basic, held on the identical monitor and 1 1/4-mile distance as Sweet’s Trip’s Pacific Basic romp 14 years prior.
Bettors favored Arrogate to win, however the tide had turned, and the Basic was all about Gun Runner. In a digital copy of his Clark efficiency from one yr earlier, Gun Runner dashed to the lead, carved out a gentle tempo, and edged away within the stretch to win by 2 1/4 lengths whereas Arrogate settled for fifth.
“The best way that he has taken his races, the way in which that he’s popping out of them, me and [assistant trainer Scott Blasi] have been simply marveling at him this week how robust he appears to be like education this week.” Asmussen stated throughout the post-race press convention. “That’s plenty of journey this yr, lot of quick races, and I believe he’s higher in the present day than he’s ever been. What a blessing it’s to have this horse to share with nice individuals, nice crew, and nice household.”
Unsurprisingly, Gun Runner was showered with accolades and awards, together with the Eclipse Award for Horse of the 12 months. The Basic might have been the curtain name for Gun Runner, however earlier than heading into retirement he took a victory lap within the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup. Vying for the winner’s share of a report $16.3 million purse, Gun Runner comfortably held off champion 3-year-old male West Coast to attain by 2 1/2 lengths.
Nineteen races. Twelve wins. Half a dozen Grade 1 triumphs. $15,988,500 in profession purse earnings. Gun Runner will lengthy be remembered for his pace, stamina, willpower, and sturdiness, however he’ll even be remembered as a posterchild for the way horses can enhance with maturity and revel in success by no means beforehand thought doable.
“I don’t know that he’s ever been sick or had a bodily drawback,” marveled Winchell Thoroughbreds supervisor David Fiske in a post-Breeders’ Cup Basic story printed within the Nov. 11, 2017 version of BloodHorse. “Everybody is aware of that horses form of undergo kind cycles and are form of up and down. Not this horse. He appears to all the time be up.”
If “up” is shorthand for “up at a better stage than his rivals,” we’ve to concur.
Enjoyable Information
- Gun Runner retired with a report of 12 wins, three seconds, and two thirds from 19 begins. His solely two finishes outdoors the highest three got here on sloppy tracks.
- Florent Geroux rode Gun Runner in 16 of his 19 races, together with all six of his Grade 1 triumphs.
- Gun Runner gained races at seven completely different tracks in six states.
- With earnings of $15,988,500, Gun Runner retired because the second-richest racehorse in North American historical past.
- Over the course of his profession, Gun Runner defeated seven previous or future Eclipse Award winners (Nyquist, West Coast, Arrogate, Speed up, Stellar Wind, Runhappy, and Whitmore) and three U.S. basic winners (Nyquist, Exaggerator, and Creator).
- In December 2021, Honest Grounds held the inaugural operating of a brand new prep race for the Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve – named the Gun Runner Stakes.
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Gun Runner went to stud at co-owner Three Chimneys Farm and instantly proved to achieve success. His first crop of foals, who started racing in 2021, earned over $4.2 million on the monitor, simply making him the main freshman sire in North America, and the filly Echo Zulu gave him a Breeders’ Cup win proper off the bat. Gun Runner dominated the second-crop North American sire record in 2022, led by high 3-year-olds Taiba, Cyberknife, and Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting.