Steve Asmussen

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

Echo Zulu (Gun Runner--Letgomyecho, by Menifee), the 2021 champion 2-year-old filly and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner who also captured three other Grade I races, including the 2023 Ballerina H., suffered two broken left front sesamoids Friday morning as she was working in company with Gunite, confirmed David Fiske, racing manager for owner Ron Winchell. "Echo Zulu sustained a biaxial sesamoid bone fracture of the left-front fetlock during training this morning at Santa Anita," Fiske texted the TDN. "She has been stabilized in a kimzey splint and will undergo...

by Patrycja Szpyra and J.N. Campbell Sporting the familiar Heiligbrodt colors of his sire, Booth (c, 2, Mitole--Sophia's Song, by Bellamy Road) showed talent ran in spades in his family on this Super Saturday unveiling, taking the Keeneland night cap at odds of 5-1 by blitzing out of the gate and never giving the rest of the field a chance en route to securing 'TDN Rising Star' honors. The colt, owned in partnership by Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm, and Whispering Oaks Farm, set all the fractions of :22.45,...

Clairiere (Curlin) and stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) each had their first works at Santa Anita Saturday for trainer Steve Asmussen while Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) fired a bullet towards the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for trainer Bob Baffert.   Work of the Day from @santaanitapark—Arabian Knight worked 6 Furlongs in 1:12.60 on October 7th, 2023, for trainer Bob Baffert. pic.twitter.com/z1CDb3I55x — XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 7, 2023 Also on Saturday, GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hopefuls Anarchist (Distorted Humor) and The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) each worked and Arcangelo (Arrogate), another contender for...

A trio of Breeders' Cup-bound horses trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen had their first works at Santa Anita Friday. Drilling easy half miles under the watchful eye of assistant Scott Blasi were Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), who went the distance in 50.80 seconds and Society (Gun Runner), who completed her move in 50.20 seconds. Also working for Asmussen was Private Creed (Jimmy Creed), who was officially clocked going three furlongs in 37.40 seconds. "This was their first work on the racetrack so we didn't want to do a...

It's hard for a horse to have a better season than Mitole did at four: his four Grade Is included the Sprint as well as the Met Mile and it's no small thing to set (and still hold) Saratoga's GI Forego stakes record of 1:20.80 for seven panels. "A long time ago somebody asked a groom what makes a good racehorse. He said speed and more speed. That always makes me think of Mitole," said Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift Farm. "This was a horse that had an unbelievable...