Gun Runner

A pair of noteworthy names were spotted on the work tab over the weekend at Saratoga, GISW Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) on Sunday and MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) on Saturday, both cruising over the Oklahoma dirt training track for the first time since their respective efforts during the Belmont at Saratoga festival. From the Chad Brown barn, the 'TDN Rising Star' put in a solo half-mile move with blinkers on in :49.66 (6/30) and galloped out into the backstretch while being encouraged by the exercise rider. When asked, Brown...

The wagering public knew they wanted a daughter of Gun Runner to win the GIII Chicago Stakes. In one corner was Vahva, the 2-5 favorite, coming off a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure when in control of the Derby City Distaff Stakes on Derby Day at Churchill May 4. Opposite her was the rail-drawn speed of 2-1 shot Society, the defending Chicago Stakes winner but unraced since a tiring fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita last November. Ultimately it was Vahva for trainer...

7th-LRC, $41K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 7:04 p.m. ET. The members of Three Amigos--Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman--went to $500,000 during Keeneland September to acquire RELATABLE (Arrogate), who is part of her sire's final 3-year-old crop. The filly is out of the Canadian bred GSP Aunt Els (Consolidator)--dam to a 2-year-old filly by Higher Power and a yearling filly by Silver State. The Bob Baffert trainee sports a strong set of works under her belt, which includes a final six panel drill (1:12.80, 1/4) alongside stablemate Normandy...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - So far, a colt named Mindframe (Constitution) has been nothing short of mind blowing. Two starts. Two wins. By a combined margin of 21 1/4 lengths. His connections think so much of him that start No. 3 will be the GI Belmont S. Saturday at Saratoga. Trainer Todd Pletcher and co-owner Mike Repole are confident the lightly raced horse will make a credible showing in the 1 1/4-mile Belmont. Despite having little experience, Mindframe was made the 7-2 second choice by New York Racing Association linemaker...

Beaten just a neck into third while earning a competitive 75 Beyer Speed Figure on six-furlong debut at Keeneland Apr. 26, Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC's World Record (c, 3, Gun Runner--Marwa {GB}, by Exceed and Excel {Aus}) added an eighth of a mile for this second go and turned it into a one-horse show in the stretch, becoming the newest 'TDN Rising Star' for his boom sire. Drawn the fence as the 8-5 chalk, the $410,000 Keeneland November weanling--the most expensive of his sire's 23 foals reported...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Observations features a Wootton Bassett (GB) half-brother to standout fillies Tenebrism (Caravaggio) and Statuette (Justify). 13.20 Curragh, Mdn, €25,000, 2yo, c/g, 6fT HENRI MATISSE (IRE) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) injects instant spark into an already talent-stacked Curragh card as the sixth foal out of the G1 Coronation S. and...

4th-Churchill Downs, $123,820, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 5-18, 3yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:45.88, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. DISARM (c, 4, Gun Runner--Easy Tap, by Tapit), a 'TDN Rising Star', was a major player on last year's Triple Crown trail, hitting the board in both the GII Louisiana Derby and the GIII Lexington S. before running fourth behind Mage (Good Magic) in the GI Kentucky Derby. Fourth again in the GII Jim Dandy S., he chased home champion 3-year-old male Arcangelo (Arrogate) to be second in the GI Travers S. in his...

A Grade I-winning juvenile at Saratoga, Leave No Trace picked up her second consecutive victory of the season in Saturday's GIII Vagrancy S. Stalking Beguine (Gun Runner) from second through fractions of :22.24 and :44.72, Jose Lezcano called on his charge for more in the lane and she responded, collaring Beguine entering the final furlong. The 8-1 chance took over from there and held the favored California invader Big Pond, making her first start for Bill Mott, safe. Leave No Trace, winner of the 2022 GI Spinaway S., ended a...

Debuted at Gulfstream in January, Corporate Power has continued to be on the improve for Shug McGaughey, breaking his maiden in his second start Feb. 24. Shipped to New York, he came up 1 1/4-length short of Unique Insight (Gun Runner) as the favorite facing allowance horses over a sloppy/sealed track Apr. 12 but still posted a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure. Stepped up in class and racing with the addition of blinkers Saturday in his stakes debut, Corporate Power flashed early speed but was outrun and had to race...

BALTIMORE, MD -- On a day where the track was proving kind to front-runners, Gun Song (Gun Runner) benefitted from a text-book ride by Hall of Famer John Velazquez to give Mark Hennig a win for longtime client Lee Lewis in Pimlico's Friday feature, the GII George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. The 14-race card concluded with record handle of $28.4 million, up from $28.2 million one year ago. Breaking slightly inward from post 5, the chestnut cruised into contention, positioning herself on the flank of 18-1 shot Jeanne Marie...

Before anything else, first and foremost we need to acknowledge the unfathomable legacy of Darling My Darling (Deputy Minister) as second dam of both colts denied in an agonizing three-way finish to the GI Kentucky Derby. The odds of that coincidence, for all her elite blood and performance, are best be left to an actuary. In the meantime, however, we should salvage the contrasting narratives aptly condensed, in what remains the definitive test of the American Thoroughbred, by her two grandsons. For our collective obsession with first place is such...

A running-on second to Alva Starr (Lord Nelson) when making her seasonal return in Keeneland's GI Resolute Racing Madison S. Apr. 6, Vahva (Gun Runner) was the 8-5 favorite to reverse form with that rival in Saturday's GI Derby City Distaff S. at Churchill Downs and clawed past late for her first win at the elite level. Quickest into stride from an outside barrier, the $280,000 Keeneland September graduate came back nicely into the hands of Irad Ortiz, Jr. and was content to stalk the pace from third as Alva...