Gun Runner Draws Ten in Pegasus

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.–As the pills were pulled at Gulfstream Park's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational draw Wednesday morning and more and more spots were filled without the name of prohibitive favorite and GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) appearing next to a number, the tension built. Only stalls one, ten and 11 were unspoken for when the chestnut's name was finally called, and he was slotted in the best possible outcome of that trio when drawing ten—more comfortable than the rail, but still wide enough to cause some agita for his connections Saturday.

“You never know to complain about a post position until after the race is run,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “Hopefully it'll work out well. The horse has been training extremely good coming off his best race to date in the Classic. He's settled in nicely here at Gulfstream and hopefully we'll have a beautiful day Saturday and he'll show his best side.”

Gun Runner was forced to pass on the Pegasus last year due to quarantine issues stemming from an equine herpes outbreak at his Fair Grounds base, and Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) captured the inaugural running. After finishing second to that rival in the G1 Dubai World Cup, the rest of the season belonged to the Winchell Thoroughbreds' colorbearer, as he returned Stateside to capture the GI Stephen Foster H., GI Whitney S., GI Woodward S. and the Classic, a procession certain to earn him a Horse of the Year statuette at Thursday night's Eclipse Awards. Now, he has one final mountain to climb, in the world's richest race, before retiring to stud for the spring.

“You weren't going into Breeders' Cup week thinking about what was next, that was it,” Asmussen said. “Everybody knew what was on the line as far as Horse of the Year that day and he came through. Then you regroup and come here—are you in the same spot, are you better? Those are to be determined Saturday.”

Gulfstream doesn't run many races at its full circuit distance of 1 1/8 miles on the dirt, and even rarer is one contested with a full field of 12 horses like the Pegasus. But the limited data available suggests that being marooned in a double-digit post position in two-turn dirt races, where there is a very short run-up to the clubhouse turn, spells trouble. Just from this current meet, posts 10-14 are a combined 1-for-34 in Gulfstream dirt routes through Sunday, while showing a more respectable 8-for-69 record in dirt sprints.

“This is another racetrack for him to run at,” Asmussen said. “The short run to the first turn, the wide draw? He's been overcoming things his whole life. We heard about, for the six weeks we went out to California, it was always [about] what he hadn't done. Well, he hasn't won here and the outside isn't good, but we get to run Gun Runner, so we're OK.”

Asmussen also made sure to note that having the presumptive Horse of the Year came due to the willingness of Gun Runner's owners to race the well-bred colt at four after he scored a potential stallion-making win in the GI Clark H. to close out his sophomore campaign.

“They need to be commended for the sportsmen that they are,” Asmussen said. “Ron Winchell, the Winchell Thoroughbred team, David Fiske, Three Chimneys and Mr. [Goncalo] Torrealba. I'm very appreciative of them allowing us to be in that position, because he was worth a lot of money with his pedigree as a Grade I winner at the end of his 3-year-old year. It was a sportsmanlike decision and they were rewarded.”

Elsewhere in the draw, the Jorge Navarro-trained pair of Sharp Azteca (Freud) and War Story (Northern Afleet) pulled posts four and eight, respectively. Right outside of Sharp Azteca—who was made the distant second choice at 6-1 on the morning behind Gun Runner's 4-5—is Collected (City Zip), an 8-1 chance who captured the GI Pacific Classic last summer before running a game second in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

One place behind him that day was Bob Baffert stablemate West Coast (Flatter), the GI Travers S. winner and likely Champion 3-year-old Male recipient Thursday night. The Gary and Mary West-owned bay will be a bit awkwardly situated in post two while also being quoted at 8-1.

Stellar Wind (Curlin), the champion mare who was thought to be retired after finishing last in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff but was instead sent back into training after being purchased by Coolmore for $6 million at Keeneland November, is 30-1 from post three.

Toast of New York (Thewayyouare), the comebacker who has just one start since finishing third in the 2014 Classic, sits at 20-1 and drew the nine-hole, while 2017 Clark winner Seeking the Soul (Perfect Soul {Ire}) will break from stall 11 as a 25-1 proposition.