By Stefanie Grimm
Saratoga Maidens, Presented By Keeneland
Three Chimneys homebred Forever Carina (Gun Runner) got a beautiful come-from-behind win in Saturday's sixth race at Saratoga to become a new 'TDN Rising Star' for her leading sire's operation.
The field strung out fast and early as it was a mad dash to the front with a three-wide wall of fillies gunning it out of the chute for command. In no rush to keep up, the 3-2 favorite sat way back in seventh as second timer Key Colony Beach (Omaha Beach) shot forward with Mysticious (Mitole) right off her flank. Huge gaps separated the field and it was a long ways back to Forever Carina who was still far out of it as the frontrunners began to corner through the half in :44.82.
Finally shaken up to come up the rail with plenty of space, the favorite began to really pick up ground as that leading pair came into the stretch. Diving and weaving her way through traffic, Forever Carina split the leaders at the furlong pole and blew right on past as Jose Ortiz drove his filly out with an aggressive hand ride to the wire several lengths in front of Classic Nora (Early Voting) who was the only runner making up any room late.
From a family of 'TDN Rising Stars', Forever Carina is a daughter of fellow 'Rising Star' and GII Mother Goose runner up Always Carina (Malibu Moon), making her a full-sister to a 'Rising Star' in this year's GI Kentucky Oaks winner Always a Runner.
Three Chimneys bought into the family with the $400,000 Keeneland April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase of second dam Miss Always Ready in 2014. In addition to Always Carina, that mare produced a Breeders' Cup hero in GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Structor (Palace Malice). The family has another Breeders' Cup winner in it with More Than Real (More Than Ready) who took the 2010 Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Three Chimneys opted to retain Forever Carina after she failed to meet her reserve with a $850,000 final bid at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She is the 26th 'Rising Star' for Gun Runner and the fourth 'Rising Star' bred on the same cross over a Malibu Moon mare, a cross which has also produced GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone.
Now with two winners from as many to the track, Always Carina has been married to Three Chimneys heavyweight, producing two more full-siblings by him: a colt in 2025 and a filly this spring. She returned to him for 2027.
6th-Saratoga, $115,000, Msw, 8-22, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.43, ft, 2 lengths.
FOREVER CARINA, f, 2, Gun Runner
1st Dam: Always Carina {GSP, $218,800},
by Malibu Moon)
2nd Dam: Miss Always Ready, by More Than Ready
3rd Dam: Miss Seffens, by Dehere
Sales History: $850,000 RNA Ylg '25 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $63,250. Click for the Equibase.com chart and VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (Goncalo B. Torrealba); B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. *Full to Always a Runner, GISW, $1,184,800.
FOREVER CARINA, the full sister to Kentucky Oaks winner ALWAYS A RUNNER, breaks her maiden in the sixth race under @jose93_ortiz for trainer Chad Brown. pic.twitter.com/68HwLMv3Ob
— NYRA (🎪) (@TheNYRA) August 22, 2026
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
