Steve Asmussen

Jockey Keith Asmussen Passes His Dad with 64th Career Victory

Jockey Keith Asmussen recorded his 64th career victory in Saturday's opener at Oaklawn, eclipsing the total of his father, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, during his riding career. Keith Asmussen, fittingly, reached the milestone on a horse trained by his father, Hern, who won the 1 1/16-mile claiming race. "Couldn't be more excited for today and the rest of the meet," Keith Asmussen said. Steve Asmussen rode 63 winners in 1982-1984, according to Equibase. Asmussen turned to training after he became too heavy to ride. Keith Asmussen, 25, launched...

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Justify's Valentine Candy Dominates Oaklawn's Advent

Valentine Candy (Justify) put a sweet punctuation to his year with a dominant display in the Advent S. on Oaklawn's opening day. Victorious against a well-met field of Saratoga maidens in July, the chestnut tired badly in the GI Hopeful S. after a round of bumper cars soon after the break took him off the pace. He resurfaced at Keeneland in October with two starts--a second against first-level optional claimers on the seventh and then running third Oct. 28 in the Bowman Mill S. Sent away at 9-5 in good...

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Dec. 9 Insights: Debuters for Royalty at Oaklawn Park

4th-OP, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 2:54p.m. ET A $350,000 FTSAUG purchase for HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, RIDE FOR SUL (Candy Ride {Arg}) looks to open his tab as 2023 winds down to a close. Out of Southern Honey (Colonel John), winner of the GIII Winning Colors S. and graded-placed on two other occasions, the colt hails from the same female family which yielded MGSW & MGISP Runway Model and her son MGISW McKinzie (Street Sense). Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Keith Asmussen, the morning line...

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Juveniles in the Spotlight at Churchill Downs Saturday

Points towards the 2024 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks will be up for grabs with a pair of graded races for juveniles Saturday at Churchill Downs. Eight colts face off in the 1 1/16-mile GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. and an equal number of fillies head postward in the GII Golden Rod S. a race earlier on the card. Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm's Risk It (Gun Runner), who already owns five Derby points thanks to his runner-up effort in the Sept. 16 GIII Iroquois S., is...

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Mitole's Carbone Debuts To 'Rising Stardom' At Churchill

A first-time starter for Steve Asmussen, Carbone (Mitole) put in a professional debut effort to earn a 'TDN Rising Star' tag Sunday under the Twinspires. Facing a mixed field of runners, including a pair of rivals exiting a key race from Keeneland in October, the William and Corinne Heiligbrodt homebred caught a flyer from his outside gate and quickly got the jump on his rivals, opening up a length on Goldbrick (Goldencents). Paced through fractions of :22.13 and :45.77, Carbone turned back Goldbrick around the far turn and drew off...

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Clairiere and Pauline's Pearl Retired to Stonestreet

Stonestreet homebreds and Grade I winners Clairiere (m, 5, Curlin-Cavorting, by Bernardini) and Pauline's Pearl (m, 5, Tapit-Hot Dixie Chick, by Dixie Union) have been retired, the Central Kentucky farm said on X Wednesday. Both were trained by Steve Asmussen for their four years on the racetrack and have returned to their birthplace. Clairiere captured four Grade I events throughout her career, including back-to-back editions of the GI Ogden Phipps S. in 2022-23. Last seen finishing fourth in Saturday's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, she retires with a record of...

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Gunite Retired to Ashford; Stud Fee Set at $35k

Gunite (Gun Runner--Simple Surprise, by Cowboy Cal), a two-time Grade I winner and runner-up behind champion Elite Power (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, has been retired from racing and will stand at Coolmore America's Ashford Stud for 2024. His fee has been set at $35,000. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred defeated the aforementioned two-time Breeders' Cup Sprint winner in this summer's GI Forego S. at Saratoga. Gunite also won the GI Hopeful S. during his 2-year-old season and the GII Amsterdam S....

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Catching Up with 2017 Breeders' Cup Classic Winner Gun Runner

Surely there's not much that hasn't been said about the inimitable Gun Runner. A top 3-year-old--Grade I winner who placed in the Kentucky Derby, Travers, and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile--he was nearly perfect at four. After a runner-up finish behind Arrogate halfway across the world in the Dubai World Cup, he never lost again, reeling off a string of Grade I scores which included the Breeders' Cup Classic. He hasn't broken stride at stud either, currently and remarkably ranked second on the U.S. general sires list with only his third...

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Thursday's Racing Insights: Copper Bullet Filly Debuts On Keeneland Grass

9th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 5:16 p.m. ET Fresh off his inaugural stakes win last weekend, Darby Dan's first-crop sire Copper Bullet will be represented by Winchell homebred COPPERDROP in her grassy Keeneland debut here. Out of a productive Tapit dam who is full-sister to GIII Silverbulletday S. victor War Echo as well as a half to GI Forego S. winner Pyro (Pulpit), the Steve Asmussen trainee counts TVG.com Pegasus S. hero Pneumatic (Uncle Mo) and the stakes-placed duo of Costa Terra (Gun Runner) and Echo Again (Gun...

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Dr. Ryan Carpenter Gives Update on Echo Zulu Surgery

Veterinarian Ryan Carpenter told Zoe Cadman on this week's TDN Writers' Room that Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) continues to do well five days after surgery to repair broken sesamoids in her left front leg. "The surgery went very well," Carpenter told Cadman on her weekly segment, 1/ST Things 1/ST at Santa Anita. "We did a fetlock arthrodesis and we used a new plate called a distal femoral plate, which is an application from the human world to incorporate the pastern joint in our repair, because we were really worried about...

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Echo Zulu Has Another Good Day After Surgery

One day after fetlock arthrodesis surgery to repair broken sesamoids in her left front leg, Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) spent an uneventful day at Steve Asmussen's barn at Santa Anita, according to David Fiske, racing manager for co-owner Ron Winchell. "No significant change from yesterday," texted Fiske in response to a TDN request for an update. "(She) splits her time between lying down and standing at her stall door eating hay. At this stage, that feels like a win. No news is good news." Echo Zulu was working in company...

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Fiske: Echo Zulu Surgery `Went As Well As Could Be Expected'

Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) had successful surgery today to repair her two broken sesamoids in her left front leg and the surgery "went as well as could be expected" said David Fiske, racing manager to co-owner Ron Winchell. The surgery was performed at the Southern California Equine Foundation's hospital on the grounds of Santa Anita Park. The 4-year-old filly suffered an injury Friday morning at Santa Anita, working in company with stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) in preparation for the Breeders' Cup. "She's out of surgery," said Fiske. "Out of recovery....

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