Gun Runner

Gun Runner's Cartucho Graduates In Impressive 'Rising Star' Debut At Tampa

The partnership of Three Chimneys Farm, William Lawrence and Walmac Farm went to $1,200,000 to secure Cartucho (Gun Runner) as a yearling at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale and were quickly rewarded when their buy graduated on debut in 'TDN Rising Star'-style at Tampa Sunday. Favored at 6-5 as one of only three first-time starters in the field, Cartucho was slow from the gate and got squeezed back from the early frontrunners to be last in the opening jumps. Quickly into stride, Javier Castellano stayed along the rail inside of...

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Road to the Kentucky Derby Heats Up with Saturday's Louisiana Derby and Jeff Ruby Steaks

The road to the GI Kentucky Derby kicks into high gear with Saturday's GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park. Over the next three weekends, there will be eight "Championship Series" races that will award Derby points to the top five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale. Drawn widest of all in post 12, GIII Lecomte S. Jan. 20 winner and GII Risen Star S. Feb. 17 runner-up Track Phantom (Quality Road) looks like the one to catch in the Louisiana Derby. Hall...

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Mitole Colt Switching To Dirt In Japan

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Nakayama and Chukyo Racecourses: Sunday, March, 17, 2024 2nd-CKO, ¥10,480,000 ($71k), Maiden, 3yo, 1400m LA LA MONSTRE (c, 3, Mitole--Speightastic, by Speightstown), a $390,000 KEESEP acquisition, was unplaced in a couple of tries on the grass last November and...

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Due To Knee Injury, Locked Will Miss Triple Crown

'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner), the winner of last year's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, has come down with a knee injury that will prevent him from running in the upcoming Triple Crown races. The injury is not considered career-threatening. The news of his injury was first reported by David Grening of the Daily Racing Form. Aron Wellman, the managing partner of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, the co-owners of Locked, described the injury as "a very minor ligament fray in the upper part of the left knee." Locked was first expected...

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Mar. 9 Insights: Big Ticket Purchases Unveiled in California

6th-OP, $115k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1m, 4:18p.m. ET Half-sister to last year's GIII Withers S. winner Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), FLASHY DANCER (Curlin) will be unveiled here for Gary and Mary West. Out of two-time Graded winner Actress (Tapit), who has also produced the winning Hot Rumor (Medaglia d'Oro), the second dam is Canadian champion Milwaukee Appeal (Milwaukee Brew). Riding a healthy work tab and picking up the services of Manny Franco, the morning line has Flashy Dancer tabbed at 8-5 odds. TJCIS PPs 4th-SA, $65k, Msw, 3yo, 6...

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Gun Runner Colt Lights Up Meydan

4th-Meydan, AED175,000, Cond., NH & SH 3yo, 1900m, 1:58.65, ft. GUNS AND GLORY (c, 3, Gun Runner--Baby Go Far {Brz} {G1SP-Brz}, by Elusive Quality) dominated from the front end at Meydan in his third start on Friday. Once the gates flew, Tadhg O'Shea drove his mount to the front and the duo set a decent pace past the grandstand and into the backstretch. In a very easy rhythm, Guns And Glory set sail for home at the 500-metre mark, and his rivals had no answer, with the bay drawing off...

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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Newtownanner Stud

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Hanzly Albina of Newtownanner Stud. "I don't take this lightly at all," said Albina, who is both general manager of Newtownanner's Kentucky farm and North American bloodstock manager of the operation. "It's a ton of fun when it works out. For me, the physical is what I'm shooting for as I can't predict performance. We want to produce what we would buy in a sales ring, want to produce as nice a horse as...

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Second Chances: Gun Runner Connections 'Hoping for Another Strike of Lightning' with Pricey Curlin Colt Gun Party

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. With a ton of steam behind impressive debut winner Just a Touch (Justify) heading into Saturday's GIII Gotham S., the second-place finisher's come-from-behind effort over a sloppy, sealed track that day at Fair Grounds may look even better after this weekend. Off at debut odds of 10-1 for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Gun Party (c, 3, Curlin--Carina Mia, by Malibu Moon) trailed the field of eight...

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Justify, Gun Runner Among 2024 Hall of Fame Finalists

Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) and 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg})--both in their first year of eligibility--head a list of nine racehorses, six trainers and two jockeys who were named as finalists on this year's Hall of Fame ballot by the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame Nominating Committee Tuesday morning. Also on the ballot are: 2010 champion 3-year-old filly Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision), eight-time Grade I winner Game on Dude (Awesome Again), three-time Eclipse champion Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat), 2011...

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Breeding Digest: High Stakes Paying Off With Sierra Leone

Among the winners at the last Breeders' Cup, what was it that separated White Abarrio (Race Day), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}) from the rest? Answer: they were the only ones that had changed hands at an American yearling auction, respectively for $7,500, $170,000 and $3,500. Even that lavish investor in the yearling market, Mike Repole, won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a homebred. Except for a couple of European turf juveniles, the rest of the show was a parade of champions raised by "end users":...

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Brook Smith Joins TDN Writer's Room Podcast

The families and children who rely on the Backside Learning Center have a GI Kentucky Derby horse to root for. Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), the winner of the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds, is partially owned by Brook Smith, who is part of a partnership led by Coolmore. Smith has been a generous supporter of the Backside Learning Center and, through the Purses for a Purpose program, donates a portion of his earnings every time a horse of his picks up a check. Smith joined this week's...

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Deja Vu! Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' Tarifa Best in Rachel Alexandra

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: a 3-year-old filly in the Godolphin blue captured the GII Rachel Alexandra S. at Fair Grounds to earn 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. So far, Tarifa (f, 3, Bernardini--Kite Beach, by Awesome Again) is following the script laid out last year by Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) perfectly. Like her year-older fellow Godolphin homebred, she, too, was named a 'TDN Rising Star' on debut. In a replay of last year, she, too, won the Rachel Alexandra for her first graded...

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