Three Chimneys's Gun Pilot, will take up stud duty alongside his sire, Gun Runner, for the 2025 breeding season, the farm said in Wednesday press release.
A five-time stakes entrant, Gun Pilot's highest achievement came this year on the Derby undercard where he took home the GI Churchill Downs Stakes.
The homebred will be making his final start in the GI Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar, which comes off a runner-up performance in the GI Forego at Saratoga. A stud fee will be announced following the Breeders Cup.
“I would describe him as brilliant and beautiful,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “He's unbelievably talented and has a lot of the physical and personality traits of Gun Runner that we love, but he's a much bigger version. I chased the Kentucky Derby with him last year, but he has proven he is at his best going one turn–he's extremely fast for a big horse.”
The latest edition to the Three Chimneys stallion center is out of unraced Bush Pilot (Smart Strike), who the farm acquired for $425,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November Sale while a colt was in-utero by More Than Ready.
Chairman Goncalo Torrealba said, “We strongly believe Gun Runner will be a sire of sires and are thrilled to have his Grade I winning son, Gun Pilot, return home and stand alongside his sire for the upcoming breeding season. We will support him with plenty of quality mares from our broodmare band.”
“He is a big, powerful, scopey horse with a strong shoulder and a great hip,” said Board Member Doug Cauthen. “He will add size, length, and strength to mares, and I think breeders will really like him. Sprinter/milers make good stallions and the Grade I Churchill Downs Stakes has been won by important stallions Distorted Humor and Speightstown, and recently by exceptional runners Cody's Wish, Jackie's Warrior and Mitole. It's a real stallion making race.”
Contact Rebecca Nicholson at 859-873-7053 for further details.
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