A daughter of Gun Runner won Sunday's Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita going one mile on the dirt, but it wasn't the one everyone expected. Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners maiden winner Meaning (f, 3, Gun Runner–Figure of Speech, by Into Mischief), fourth behind Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly Super Corredora (Gun Runner) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, bested not only Super Corredora, but also GII Oak Leaf Stakes winner and Juvenile Fillies runner-up Explora (Blame), the lone 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' in the field, in the Las Virgenes. The race offered points to the GI Kentucky Oaks on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale.
“This is a filly we thought highly of from day one,” said Eclipse Thoroughbred's Aron Wellman on FanDuel TV after the Las Virgenes.
When the gates flew, Super Corredora was ridden hard from the outside to the front as Explora found herself in tight along the rail. Both wanted the lead, but it was Explora who got her head down at the :22.57 first split while Meaning bided her time serving as caboose of the four-horse field. Meaning moved up to join the top two on the outside after the :45.98 half, with Super Corredora the first to throw in the towel as the trio exited the turn. Meaning and Explora laid it down in the lane in a heated battle, but it was Meaning, despite slow to swap to her proper lead, who got up in the final strides to win by 1 1/2 lengths. She got the mile in 1:38.39. Explora held for second, while maiden winner Bank Shot (Game Winner) finished third.
Meaning debuted with a lopsided 3 1/2-length score in September in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Los Alamitos before making just her second career start in the Breeders' Cup. Despite bumping a number of times in the championship race, she wasn't dissuaded and held well to miss third by just a head. The Las Virgenes marked her sophomore debut.
Bought by her current connections for $440,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September sale, Meaning has a 2-year-old Curlin half-sister, a $300,000 RNA at Keeneland September last year, and a yearling Flightline half-brother. Her dam, third in the GI Spinaway Stakes in 2019, was covered by Nyquist for 2026.
MEANING ($7.80) wore down Explora after hot early fractions in the $100,000 Las Virgenes at @santaanitapark. The Gun Runner (@Three_Chimneys) filly grabs 20 more points to the Kentucky Oaks. @mwmracing trains and Flavien Prat was up for owners @EclipseTBP and Bridlewood Farm. pic.twitter.com/7PnmLt7RL6
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) February 8, 2026
LAS VIRGENES S., $98,000, Santa Anita, 2-8, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:38.39, ft.
1–MEANING, 120, f, 3, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Figure of Speech (GISP), by Into Mischief
2nd Dam: Starlight Lady, by Elusive Quality
3rd Dam: Colcon, by Pleasant Colony
($440,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN.
O-Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners;
B-Stonehaven Steadings (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy;
J-Flavien Prat. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $187,000.
2–Explora, 124, f, 3, Blame–Collections Choice, by Bernardini.
($22,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP; $350,000 2yo '25 EASMAY).
O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman;
B-Mesingw Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. 'TDN Rising Star,
presented by Hagyard' $20,000.
3–Bank Shot, 120, f, 3, Game Winner–Puskita, by Indian
Charlie. ($47,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTKJUL; $50,000 Ylg '24
FTKOCT; $160,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-WSS Racing; B-Buck Pond Farm & John Wilmot (KY);
T-Ryan Hanson. $12,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3, 2 1/4. Odds: 2.90, 0.80, 28.00.
Also Ran: Super Corredora.
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