Gunite, Wicked Halo win at Keeneland; BC may be next

Lexington, Ky.

The U.S. “win and you’re in” races for the Breeders’ Cup ended early this month. But for Gunite and Wicked Halo, the Perryville and Raven Run stakes Saturday at Keeneland may as well have been “cruise around the track and you’re in” qualifiers.

On the same track where he could start again for bigger money in just two weeks, Gunite (3-5) coyly stalked the early pace before Tyler Gaffalione put him in overdrive to dust seven other 3-year-olds for a 3 3/4-length victory in the $250,000 Perryville, his second in a row in a stakes race.

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About 1 1/2 hours later, Wicked Halo (5-2) made a winning move in the stretch to defeat eight other 3-year-old fillies going seven furlongs in the $350,000 Raven Run (G2). With a four-length gap back to her nearest rival, it was her fourth consecutive victory, all in stakes.

“They are two wonderful Winchell (Thoroughbreds) homebreds by Gun Runner,” said Steve Asmussen, who trained both winners. “It’s quite obvious how special Gun Runner is as a sire. I think that’s what separates them. These horses have accepted a lot of racing, and they’ve continuously gotten faster.”

There may be more racing soon enough. The Breeders’ Cup would mark the shortest turnaround in each horse’s career.

“It’s on the table,” Asmussen said. “It definitely is.”

Gunite could land in either the Sprint or the Dirt Mile. Wicked Halo could be in the Filly & Mare Sprint covering the same seven furlongs as she ran Saturday.

Both winners were ridden as usual by Tyler Gaffalione, who raced them wide in third place early before making decisive moves into the lead at or near the top of the stretch.

Hoist the Gold (25-1) tried to make it interesting late before finishing second in the Perryville. But he never got closer than 2 1/2 lengths to Gunite, whose winning time of 1:23.21 was a stakes record for the seven-furlong race on the fast, main track.

“He was within himself and finished up like a horse that was,” Asmussen said. “I think it was an excellent time considering the times that have been laid down here recently. I think that’s a great sign, because we definitely are considering running back in the Breeders’ Cup.”

The Breeders’ Cup what? The problem for Gunite is that he excels at seven furlongs, having won four times and finished second twice in six starts at the distance.

“There’s not a seven-eighths,” Asmussen said with a big grin. His choices are limited to the six-furlong Sprint around one turn and the eight-furlong Dirt Mile around two.

Since Gunite is the classic ’tweener, which Nov. 5 race could it be?

“The way he went through the wire, we’ll ask him that question,” Asmussen said. “Monday is the pre-entries, and we’ll go from there.”

Even then, when the noon local-time deadline comes, Asmussen and owner Ron Winchell do not have to make a final decision. They can cross-enter in both races, although they must declare first and second preferences.

“I’ll talk with Ron and David,” Asmussen said, referring also to Winchell’s racing manager David Fiske. “We’re celebrating this victory right now, make sure he comes out of it as good as he went in and go from there.”

Starting from the outside post in the Perryville, Gunite positioned himself on the right flank of early pacesetters Provocateur (10-1) and Of a Revolution (9-1). It was the perfect case of having a carrot at the end of a stick. But following early fractions of 22.38 and 45.82 seconds, Gunite was not in a rush to take up the chase.

“You could see the confidence in him about not getting in a hurry to get there,” Asmussen said. “Today he seemed extremely comfortable with where he was at, waited for Tyler’s cue and went about his business perfectly.”

It was unlike what Gunite did in winning the Amsterdam (G2) in July at Saratoga. Despite stumbling at the start, he never was more than a half-length off the lead at any call. Another poor start might have kept him from making more of a race of it in August when he lost the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) to Jack Christopher by 1 1/4 lengths. He was close to the pace again last month when he won the Harrods Creek at Churchill Downs.

Asked if he felt Gunite was better Saturday in showing some patience, Asmussen said, “I thought maybe more so today than other times. But (he was helped by) the company and circumstances, perfect draw and not a tremendous amount of pace in the race.”

Once he took the lead in the turn, Gunite opened the margin to 2 1/2 lengths and finished the first three-quarters of a mile at 1:10.56. A furlong later, his triumph pushed his career earnings to $965,934.

After second-place Hoist the Gold came B Dawk (7-1), another three lengths up the track, then Artorius (7-2), Friar Laurence (53-1), Of a Revolution and Provocateur, in that order.

Pinehurst, the Grade 1-winning millionaire who finished 25 lengths behind in each of his two most recent starts, was scratched just before what would have been his first race for trainer Brendan Walsh.

“The state vet said he was lame,” a frustrated Walsh said after the race. “But he wasn’t lame.”

The Raven Run unfolded in similar fashion to the Perryville. Smash Ticket (3-1) assumed her usual position on the early lead, challenged right away by Freedom Speaks (11-1) through early fractions of 22.73 and 46.09 seconds. Always within a length, Wicked Halo stayed three wide before Gaffalione asked for more. She delivered, assuming a lead that took her through three-quarters of a mile at 1:11.04 and a winning time of 1:24.30.

Fingal’s Cave (4-1) closed from last to finish second, a neck ahead of third-place stalker Midnight Stroll (5-1). Freedom Speaks, Last Leaf (15-1), Smash Ticket, Colorful Mischief (15-1), République (27-1) and Union Lake (10-1) were fourth through ninth, in that order.

The two wins raised Asmussen’s North America-leading career win total to 9,927. He is bidding to join South America’s Juan Suárez Villaroel as the only trainers to reach 10,000.

“Seventy four,” Asmussen said between the two wins. “But who’s counting?”