Gunite turned the tables on familiar rival Elite Power when defeating the reigning champion male sprinter in a tour de force performance in the $500,000 Forego (G1) Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
Second to Elite Power in an epic duel in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) July 29 at the Spa, Gunite was too strong Saturday when leading at every point of call, shaking off an inside challenge from his foe in the stretch, and drawing off for a 1/3/4-length victory under Tyler Gaffalione.
Gunite returned $4.60 after covering the seven furlongs for 4-year-olds and older in 1:21.53. While pursued by Pipeline, Gunite clocked early fractions of :23.16 for the opening quarter mile and :46.20 for the half before shaking off Elite Power, who tracked from third before challenging in the stretch, and cruising clear for the win.
High Oak finished third, four lengths behind stablemate Elite Power, the 3-5 favorite.
A Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred trained by Steve Asmussen, Gunite added a second Grade 1 win to his record after taking the 2021 Hopeful, also at seven furlongs. Overall, the 4-year-old Gun Runner colt out of the Cowboy Cal mare Simple Surprise has a 9-6-2 record from 19 career starts.
Forego Quotes
Steve Asmussen, winning trainer of Gunite (No. 2, $4.60): “Gunite is just a very special horse to race at the level he has for as long as he has and do it consistently. It was a very tough defeat for him in the Vanderbilt and for him to not blink an eye, come back and lay it down again today just proves what a special horse he actually is.
“Elite Power is a great champion. I can't say how much I respect him, being by the unbelievable Curlin. But Gunite has seen good horses and he doesn't blink. That's what makes him so special. He came out of the box trying to prove who Gun Runner was as a 2-year-old, had six runs as a 2-year-old, two of them were here, and he's still winning Grade 1s at 4. Those horses are hard to come by right now.
“The horse gives us a tremendous amount of confidence. Tough defeat in the Vanderbilt, but the next day all he wanted was another chance at him. Today was his chance and he proved how truly good he is.
“Seven-eighths is probably his distance. His other Grade 1 win was the Hopeful which was seven-eighths of a mile. Yes, he can three-quarters and yes, he can mile, but seven-eighths is ideal for him.
“It's amazing what Gun Runner is as a sire. It brings back great memories. His summer here winning the Whitney and the Woodward was just magnificent. For us to be so blessed to get to have multiple Gun Runners. We have three Grade 1 contenders and all three are Gun Runners.”
On training up to Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint: “He likes racing. He's never been a flashy trainer. I believe he'll need another race.”
Ron Winchell of winning owner Winchell Thoroughbreds of Gunite (No. 2): “Very redeeming. Obviously, we came up a little short in the last one after having the lead. So this was definitely redeeming from the last race. I think he's getting better over time. With the Gun Runners, like you see with Echo Zulu also, their last few races just seem to be getting better and better as they get older.”
Tyler Gaffalione, winning jockey aboard Gunite (No. 2): “He broke alertly, put himself in a good spot. The difference between today and last time was, going the three quarters, you've got to use him a little more than you'd like to. Seven-eighths suits him a little bit better. He's a big colt, just let him get into his stride and let him do his thing.”
On riding against Elite Power: “You try to just ride your own horses, but these kind of races against this group of quality, you've got to pay attention [to] who you're running against.”
On Gunite's response in the stretch: “I slapped him on the shoulder, threw him his head, and he exploded. Especially after he switched leads late, he found another gear.
“I think [last time] I used him a little too much early on and I wanted to get a little bit of separation coming into the stretch last time, might've cost us a bit. He definitely made up for it today. He's such a tremendous horse. All the credit goes to Steve and his team.”
On his trip last time: “There wasn't a lot of pace. I was drawn outside of Elite Power that day so I wanted to kind of keep him bottled up. My horse didn't really get underneath himself until we got him to the three-eighths pole, and it's not like I can take a hold there.”
Bill Mott, trainer of runner-up and beaten favorite Elite Power (No. 3) and third-place High Oak (No. 1): “Maybe I've seen him [Elite Power] run a little better before, but I can't give any big excuse. We gave the winner six pounds, I don't know if that's enough to use as an excuse.”
On if Elite Power will have another race before the Breeders' Cup Sprint: “Probably not.”
On High Oak [No. 1]: “It was a short field and Lee [Einsidler, co-owner] wanted to take a shot at it and the horse ran well. He justified being in there.”
Katie Davis, jockey of third-place High Oak (No. 1): “It was just a very patient ride. There was a lot of speed in the race, so turning for home he was really engaged and it was something you really wanted to see in him after these last couple of races. He's changed completely and we're looking forward to moving forward with him. He tried his heart out and I couldn't ask for anything else.”
Winning margin: 1 3/4 lengths
Final time (seven furlongs): 1:21.53
Fractions: 23.16, 46.20, 1:09.67
Full order of finish: 2-3-1-4-5
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