Gunnevera is the Bargain of the 2017 Kentucky Derby Trail
Some will pay more than others to try to find lightning in a bottle. A wonderful example of this can be found on the 2017 Kentucky Derby trail. While a high percentage of the top contenders were purchased for several hundred thousand dollars, or more, at auction, ranging all the way up to $1.2 million, there were a few bargains that are currently pointing for the first Saturday in May. Petrov, for instance, was sold at auction three separate times, with the largest sale price being $55,000. The son of Flatter (who currently stands for a $35,000 stud fee) was most recently second in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes, and has already earned $184,800 in only four career starts to date. The Ron Moquett-trained colt is not the biggest bargain on this year's Derby trail, though; far from it.
With $839,600 already in the bank, Gunnevera has earned more than any three-year-old on the Kentucky Derby trail other than the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and 2yo Champion, Classic Empire. While that one fetched $475,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Gunnevera, one of the two horses that finished ahead of him in the recent Holy Bull Stakes, was purchased for a mere $16,000 at the same sale.
Certainly the purchase of Classic Empire, even at nearly half-a-million, was money very well spent, but how about the bargain which trainer, Antonio Sano and owner, Peacock Racing Stables found in this chestnut son of Dialed In? The reasons why the Saratoga Special and Delta Downs Jackpot winner sold for such a small sum are numerous, but the bottom line here is ... a fantastic bottom line for his connections.
Part of the first crop of his sire, Dialed In, now that we know Gunnevera can compete with the best of the crop, there is every reason to believe that the stretch runner can also be successful as the distances increase this spring. Dialed In won the Florida Derby, and is by Mineshaft, a Horse of the Year, out of a Storm Cat mare. Gunnevera also has a Florida Derby winner on his female side. Of course, his broodmare sire Unbridled, also won the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic. The Florida Derby, after next month's Fountain of Youth, also looks like the path Gunnevera will take to Louisville.
With strong past performances already on his side in his seven-race career, solid bloodlines on both sides of his pedigree, and a closing kick that can strike fear into any front-runner, there can be no doubt that Gunnevera was an amazing buy at only $16,000.
By way of comparison, here is a list of other top contenders for the 2017 Kentucky Derby that were sold at auction, and in order of their sale price ...
1) Tapwrit (Tapit) $1,200,000 as a yearling
2) Battalion Runner (Unbridled's Song) $700,000 as a yearling
3) Local Hero (Hard Spun) $500,000 as a two-year-old
4) Classic Empire (Pioneerof The Nile) $475,000 as a yearling
5) American Anthem (Bodemeister) $435,000 as a two-year-old
6) Mastery (Candy Ride) $425,000 as a yearling
7) Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) $350,000 as a yearling
8) El Areeb (Exchange Rate) $340,000 as a two-year-old
9) Royal Mo (Uncle Mo) $300,000 as a yearling
10) Iliad (Ghostzapper) $285,000 as a two-year-old
11) Practical Joke (Into Mischief) $240,000 as a yearling
12) Mo Town (Uncle Mo) $200,000 as a yearling
13) Malagacy (Shackleford) $190,000 as a two-year-old
14) One Liner (Into Mischief) $150,000 as a yearling
15) Petrov (Flatter) $55,000 as a two-year-old
16) Gunnevera (Dialed In) $16,000 as a two-year-old