Gun Runner won his first two races before fading to fourth in a Grade 2 event that ended his 2-year-old season. At 3 he won four stakes (Risen Star, Louisiana Derby, Matt Winn, Clark) but came up short in the Kentucky Derby, Haskell, Travers, Pennsylvania Derby and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Nice horse — consistent, durable, but not quite top class.
Magnitude. Coady Photo.
Then came his great leap forward, because at age 4 Gun Runner became an unstoppable locomotive. His 2017 Horse of the Year campaign included consecutive Grade 1 triumphs in the Stephen Foster, Whitney, Woodward and Breeders’ Cup Classic. He made it five in a row the following January with a romp in the Pegasus World Cup, his career finale.
He’s been a sensation as a stallion, siring 10 Grade 1 winners, including Classic hero Sierra Leone, and commanding a $250,000 stud fee at Three Chimneys Farm. In August he was a first-ballot inductee to the Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs.
The $100,000, 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes for 2-year-olds will be run for the fourth time Saturday at the Fair Grounds, site of its namesake’s first stakes victory. It’s a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier, awarding points on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis for the first five finishers. (It’s only a five-horse field, so everyone gets a participation trophy.) Also featured on the six-stakes card is the Untapable, which offers Kentucky Oaks points to the 2-year-old fillies.
For those who bet horse racing, here are a few handicapping tips for the Gun Runner. Horses are listed in post-position order from the rail out, with jockey, trainer and odds in parentheses:
1 BUILT
(Corey Lanerie, Wayne Catalano, 7-2)
Speedy colt appears to have a pace advantage as he makes his stakes and two-turn debut. Expect Lanerie to gun from the rail, and if he shakes free, Built’s solid distance pedigree (by Hard Spun out of a Curlin mare) could take him home.
Verdict: Win contender
2 RENDER JUDGMENT
(Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek, 4-1)
Broke his maiden going two turns in his second start before finishing a never-close fifth in Grade 2 stakes at Churchill Downs. No early speed, so he should have too much to do to catch up.
Verdict: Toss
3 MAGNITUDE
(Jose Ortiz, Steve Asmussen, 2-1)
Stalked slow pace last time to win first time going two turns. Ortiz, a brilliant position rider, is dominating (35% wins) early in the Fair Grounds meet. Probably will track the pace and hope to get first run on the others if Built fades.
Verdict: Win contender
4 CHRIS’S REVENGE
(Jaime Torres, Brittany Russell, 6-1)
Deserves being the longest shot on the morning line. His only victory was in a maiden optional claimer going 6½ furlongs. Russell is an excellent trainer who’s having a terrific year, but this guy is up against it.
Verdict: Toss
5 ADMIRAL DENNIS
(Luis Saez, Brad Cox, 9-5)
He’s been training well at the Fair Grounds after coasting by 3½ lengths under Saez going a mile at Churchill. Sire Constitution and maternal grandsire Union Rags give him a big chance to excel his first time going two turns. Cox has a barn filled with top 2-year-olds, and Saez has been riding a hot streak.
Verdict: The horse to beat
The picks: 1 Admiral Dennis 2 Built 3 Magnitude