Gun Runner on the rise after Risen Star victory
In his seasonal debut, Gun Runner turned the tables on two of the top 3 from last year’s Kentucky Jockey Club to pick up 50 points towards the 2016 Kentucky Derby in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Bistraya and Candy My Boy were quickest out of the gate, and Candy My Boy was able to clear the field into the first turn to establish the lead. Bistraya took up second, followed by Its All Relevant, Tom’s Ready and Gun Runner. Airoforce settled in at the back of the tightly pack group behind pacesetting Candy My Boy, and In Equality, Zapperini and Mo Tom trailed the field with some distance between each.
With no one pushing him along on the lead and clear by 2-3 lengths, Candy My Boy set splits of :22.95 for the opening quarter, :46.38 for the first half and 1:11.33 for 6 furlongs.
Afterwards, jockey Shaun Bridgmohan regretted the fractions but ultimately did not see a way around them. “He went a little bit quicker than I wanted him to go, but I had to let him run from the 13-hole to get over, so I did," he explained. "He cleared the field pretty easily, but then he had to work a little bit and I thought he ran really good to hang on. He gave me a quality effort. He's a really nice horse.”
Down the backstretch, Gun Runner moved up the rail and into third, just to the inside of Bistraya and Its All Relevant. In the far turn, Airoforce was being pushed along to pick it up while Tom’s Ready was being floated wide. Forevamo continued to hold the rail in midpack. Meanwhile, Gun Runner was passing Bistraya to take over second and launch a bid for the lead.
As the field spun for home, Gun Runner moved off the rail and up to confront Candy My Boy in earnest. At the quarter pole, Candy My Boy was still tenaciously clinging to the lead while Gun Runner inched up on him with every stride. Forevamo moved off the rail and into third, and behind him, Mo Tom had to check sharply as a fading Bistraya drifted into his path.
Mo Tom's jockey Corey Lanerie felt that he had the best horse in the field. “It was really good until we got kind of wiped out," he said. "Someone came from the outside and I lost all my momentum. I hope he's alright. I definitely thought he was the best horse today. He galloped out so good. I think if that didn't happen I would have caught him in the last couple jumps.”
Inside the final furlong, Gun Runner was able to finally wear down and pass Candy My Boy, but it was not clear sailing from there. Charging down the center of the track were Forevamo and Mo Tom. As the wire approached, Forevamo ran out of time to run down Gun Runner and had to settle for second, just ½-length away from the win. After losing momentum at the top of the stretch, Mo Tom closed fiercely to steal third by ¾-length from Candy My Boy, who rounded out the superfecta. The final time for the 1 1/16 mile Kentucky Derby prep was 1:43.94.
Winning jockey Florent Geroux, who was aboard Gun Runner for the first time in a race, stated afterwards, "He's a very nice horse. I've really liked him since the first time I was on his back a few weeks ago working in the morning. He's super athletic. I was very confident. I wanted to make sure I saved some ground. Earlier I got beat (with Stageplay) and was stuck going wide the whole way. It looked like the track was playing a little bit more inside-favoring. I kept him down there until I asked him to go and he ran a great race."
Zapperini, In Equality, Tom’s Ready, Its All Relevant, Bistraya, Airoforce and Uncle Walter rounded out the order of finish. Dolphus, a half-brother to 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, and Laoban were scratched from the field.
Off 5-1 odds, Gun Runner paid $12.20/$7.00/$4.80. Forty-to-one longshot Forevamo returned $33.80/$12.20 for the place, and 3-1 Mo Tom returned $3.00 for the show. The $2 exacta paid $335.20, the $1 trifecta returned $646.50 and the $0.10 superfecta was worth $945.87.
Julien Leparoux, aboard beaten favorite Airoforce, had no answers for his mount's poor performance. "I don't know. I don't know," he lamented. "He was traveling good, and then he put his head up and didn't pick it up."
By Candy Ride and out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Quiet Giant, Gun Runner was bred by Besilu Stables and is owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, who privately purchased the colt. With today’s win, Gun Runner improved his career record to 4: 3-0-0 with purse earnings of $306,920 and is one sloppy track away from potentially being undefeated or at least never off the board.
Winning trainer Steven Asmussen praised the performance of both horse and rider. "He's a very nice horse. We're very lucky to have him," he said. "I thought Florent gave him a beautiful trip with how the track was playing. He's shown talent the whole time and it's definitely good to see him in the winner's circle in a race like this.”
In his final start as a 2-year old, Gun Runner finished 4th in a sloppy rendition of the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. After leading briefly in the stretch, the son of Candy Ride was passed by Airoforce, Mor Spirit and Mo Tom, all considered top 3-year olds on the Kentucky Derby trail. Back on a fast track, Gun Runner turned the tables on two of those foes to pick up 50 points towards making the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby. Forevamo picked up 20 points, Mo Tom claimed 10 points and Candy My Boy grabbed his first 5 points.
Winning owner Ron Winchell gave a clear view as to what the next several months should look like for Gun Runner. "That's the dream, right - the Kentucky Derby. He's been highly anticipated and a quality horse. Right now the ($1,000,000 Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 26) is the plan."
Ron Brueggamann, trainer of 4th place finisher Candy My Boy, also indicated the Louisiana Derby as the next spot for his charge.