Tag: Gun Runner

‘Locked’ and Loaded: Gun Runner Colt Secures ‘TDN Rising Star’ Honors at the Spa

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With this smashing victory in the fifth race Friday, Locked (Gun Runner) graduated summa cum laude with 'TDN Rising Star' honors from the 2-year-old maiden special weight ranks at Saratoga Race Course.

A month after his career debut went awry, Locked turned in a top-notch performance under Jose Ortiz, scoring by 7 1/4 lengths and covering the mile in 1:36. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said it is likely that the chestnut colt will run next in the GI Champagne S. or the GI Breeders' Futurity S.

Locked is co-owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm. He is out of the Malibu Moon mare Luna Rosa and was purchased for $425,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale.

Eclipse chairman Brian Spearman said the colt really delivered in his second trip to the races.

“We ran him Whitney weekend up here, came in third, stumbled a little bit coming out,” Spearman said. “Todd has always thought very, very highly of him. We were hoping what we saw today would be exactly what we thought, so we're super excited.”

Locked found trouble at the start of the Aug. 5 race and ended up at the rear of the field of 10, but he did rally and managed to hit the board in the six-furlong contest. Pletcher said getting a second crack against maidens can be a benefit.

“I think sometimes it's better for their development,” Pletcher said. “In that debut he got a lot of dirt in his face. He got a lot of experience, a lot of education that paid off. He showed good tactical speed today, put Jose right into the race.”

Locked and Ortiz were bumped a bit leaving the gate, but promptly grabbed a pace-pressing position outside of Arteta (Take Charge Indy), who led the field through splits of :23.96 and :47.72. They moved to the front just under a half-mile from home and were never challenged.

“Jose said he was travelling very comfortably, all the way down the backside,” Pletcher said. “When he kind of squeezed him, he jumped underneath him and finished up impressively. The final time, I thought, was exceptional.”

Spearman said that Eclipse founder and president Aron Wellman, the decision-maker on purchases, identified the colt bred by Rosa Colasanti as a top prospect.

“He loved the horse from the beginning,” Spearman said. “He loved the confirmation. He talked about the pedigree. He loved the mare. For him, I think it was the total package and once he saw him at the sale I think he was convinced we've got to try to get this one. So we did.”

Locked was no surprise to bettors, who made him the 2-5 favorite. He paid $3.50 to win.

Although the result of the first race was disappointing, Pletcher said he was better for the outing.

“He did what a lot of first timers to do, climbed from the kickback,” Pletcher said. “But when he levelled off, he really came with a strong late run and an exceptional gallop out. He came back with two dynamite breezes afterwards. We've been pointing to this race since we knew it was here and we were expecting good things from him.”

5th-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 9-1, 2yo, 1m, 1:36.00, ft, 7 1/4 lengths.
LOCKED, c, 2, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Luna Rosa, by Malibu Moon
                2nd Dam: Gabriellina Giof (GB), by Ashkalani (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Paola Quatraro (Ire), by Cure the Blues
Sales history: $425,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $70,350. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners & Walmac Farm; B-Rosa Colasanti (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.

Locked (Gun Runner) became the eighth 'TDN Rising Star' for his leading young sire with a powerhouse performance at second asking at Saratoga Friday afternoon.

The Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm colorbearer wasn't much of a secret as the 3-4 favorite while stretching to a mile after rallying smartly from last after some trouble at the start to finish a very promising third sprinting on debut for Todd Pletcher at Saratoga Aug. 5 (Second Chances series).

Locked, a $425,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, bumped with a rival at the start this time, but was still away in good enough order to secure a perfect spot in an outside second. Ready to pounce beneath Jose Ortiz through fractions of :23.96 and :47.72, the chestnut could wait no longer, and took over with authority approaching the three-eighths pole. Locked hit the top of the stretch in complete control and was handed confidently down the lane en route to a 7 1/4-length tally over Drum Roll Please (Hard Spun) while stopping the timer in a sharp 1:36 flat.

Bred in Kentucky by Rosa Colasanti, Locked was produced by a winning half-sister to MGISW Gabby's Golden Gal (Medaglia d'Oro) and MGSW & GISP Always a Princess (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}). The Gun Runner/Malibu Moon cross is already responsible for GSWs Shotgun Hottie and Runninsonofagun. Locked is also bred similarly to MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Taiba (Gun Runner), who is out of a Flatter mare.

Locked's dam produced a colt by Caravaggio in 2022 and a filly by Tiz the Law this year. She was bred back to Early Voting. —Steve Sherack

 

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Monday Insights: Maiden Colts Headline Rescheduled Ellis Card

6th-ELP, $70K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 3:18 p.m.

A trio of colts make their much-anticipated debuts Monday beginning with Stonestreet homebred BENVOLIO (Tapit). Out of GI La Troienne S. winner Molly Morgan (Ghostzapper) who was purchased by Stonestreet for $1.35m out of the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale, the bay is a half to $1.8m yearling Vintage Print (Curlin).

He'll face a pair of expensive yearlings including a stablemate in Army Officer (Not This Time), picked up for $475,000 out of last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale by Qatar Racing. His dam is a half-sister to MGSW/GISP Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah).

Steve Asmussen pairs with another Gun Runner colt in Dynamis, who sold for $450,000 at Keeneland September but most recently RNA'd for a more significant $875,000 at this year's OBS April Sale. He is out of a half to no more than three graded-stakes horses and tossed in a pair of back-to-back bullet works Aug. 7 and Aug. 14, going five furlongs in 1:01 and 1:01 1/5 respectively. TJCIS PPS

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Echo Zulu Completes Gun Runner Grade I Sprint Double

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds's Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), second to Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) when that one solidified her champion female sprinter honors in last year's GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint, asserted her position atop that division this year with a convincing tally over that same rival in Saturday's GI Ballerina H. at Saratoga. She was also the second Grade I winner for her connections sired by Gun Runner on the card.

An Eclipse winner herself in 2021 with a perfect four-for-four 2-year-old season that included romping victories in the track-and-trip GI Spinaway S. and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies after a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy unveiling at the Spa, the bay took the GII Fair Grounds Oaks last March upon seasonal debut. She could only manage fourth in a strong running of the GI Kentucky Oaks, however, and when she resurfaced in September it was in Churchill's seven-furlong GIII Dogwood S., which she took by more than five lengths. Giving a good account of herself in her first attempt against older rivals at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, she'd been absolutely dominant in two prior appearances this year–in the GIII Winning Colors S. under the Twin Spires May 29, and when earning a gaudy 112 Beyer Speed Figure when 7 1/4 lengths clear in the GII Honorable Miss H. July 26.

Off at 3-5 to Goodnight Olive's 2-1 with nobody else close in the market, Echo Zulu was somewhat surprisingly out-footed by her main rival in the first few strides before taking the narrowest of leads from Goodnight Olive through splits of :22.45 and :45.23. They hit the top of the lane more or less on even terms, but Echo Zulu quickly found another gear to settle matters by 2 1/2 lengths.

“She was picking it up nicely when I asked her to,” said winning rider Florent Geroux. “Felt like I was in control pretty much all the way through the race, and when I asked her turning for home, she gave me this other gear… She's amazing. I'm just very grateful for the opportunity the owners and Steve Asmussen have given me to ride her. She's a champion and I'm just the lucky pilot.”

Asmussen, who was celebrating his second win in the Ballerina and first since Lady Tak in 2004, added, “We were extremely confident in how she's been doing. She's dotted all the 'i's' and crossed all the 't's'. She was unbelievable coming out of her last race and coming into this. Just had a tremendous amount of confidence that she would do exactly how she did.

Of the match-up with Goodnight Olive, the Hall of Famer said, “Someone asked me, 'How do you see it?' and I said, 'Well I assure you that we have respect for each other.' That's how it ought to be. That's what makes these races so great. The development that she has shown is so much like her father Gun Runner. The longer you had him, the faster he was and that's how she's been. As great as she ran in the Honorable Miss and coming out of her first triple-digit Beyer, you're confidence was it was a prep. She's four-for-four here at Saratoga and has another Grade I win on her resume. Obviously, she's as fast as a horse can go.”

Co-owner Ron Winchell noted, “Last year we were trying to get her ready and kind of push her into getting into the Breeders' Cup, and it wasn't like she was 100% fit. Coming to this year, we had enough time to get her right, and now we are here today where we think she is at her best. We will worry about [Breeders' Cup plans] tomorrow.”

Saturday, Saratoga Racecourse
BALLERINA H.-GI, $500,000, Saratoga, 8-26, 3yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:20.95, my.
1–ECHO ZULU, 123, f, 4, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Letgomyecho (GSW, $136,200), by Menifee
                2nd Dam: Echo Echo Echo, by Eastern Echo
                3rd Dam: Kashie West, by Sir Ivor
($300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-L and N Racing LLC and Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Florent Geroux. $275,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Filly, 11-9-1-0, $2,640,375. *1/2 to Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's Song), GSP, $253,478; 1/2 to J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), GSW, $377,543; 1/2 to Echo Town (Speightstown), GISW, $410,020. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Goodnight Olive, 124, m, 5, by Ghostzapper
                1st Dam: Salty Strike (MGSW, $485,266), by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Lake Huron, by Salt Lake
                3rd Dam: My Rainbow, by Lyphard
($170,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-First Row Partners and Team Hanley; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Chad Brown. $100,000.
3–Matareya, 122, f, 4, by Pioneerof the Nile
1st Dam: Innovative Idea (GSW, $229,343), by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Golden Velvet, by Seeking the Gold
                3rd Dam: Caress, by Storm Cat
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $60,000.
Margins: 2HF, 6 1/4, NO. Odds: 0.60, 2.20, 9.30.
Also Ran: Caramel Swirl, Dr B, Sterling Silver, Maryquitecontrary. Scratched: Wicked Halo.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

Pedigree Notes:

Echo Zulu added to an extremely productive week for her sire (see coverage of the Forego for more), and two races later her stablemate Disarm (Gun Runner) nearly capped things off with a victory in the GI Travers S., settling for second after some traffic trouble.

The winner's dam Letgomyecho took all three of her sprint starts, including the 2005 GII Forward Gal S., and last sold for $135,000 in foal to Congrats at KEENOV '11. She has since produced four graded performers and another multiple stakes-placed runner, including L and N Racing's Echo Town (Speightstown), winner of the GI Runhappy H. Allen Jerkens S. on this card and at this track and trip in 2020–he has first yearlings this season; and 2017 GIII Gotham S. hero J Boys Echo (Mineshaft). Letgomyecho's last reported foal is unraced 3-year-old filly Doing Justice (American Pharoah), who fetched $1.4 million at the 2021 Keeneland September sale. Half of Menifee's six graded winners as a broodmare sire are out of Letgomyecho.

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Gun Runner’s Vahva Gets It Done in Charles Town Oaks

Cherie DeVaux trainee Vahva (f, 3, Gun Runner–Holiday Soiree, by Harlan's Holiday) shipped in to Charles Town off a third in Belmont's July 8 GIII Victory Ride S. to capture Friday night's 15th running of the $750,000 GIII Charles Town Oaks, billed as the richest sprint race for sophomore fillies in North America. Off at 7-5, Vahva raced just behind the leaders while 96-1 Late Frost (Frosted) set early fractions of :23.37 and :46.82 as Undervalued Asset (Speightstown) pressured her from the outside. The two pacesetters pulled well clear of the field on the final turn with just Vahva threatening behind in third. Vahva joined the pacesetting party about a furlong from home and the three lined up across the track inside the final sixteenth. The frontrunners held tough, but Vahva was moving best of all and had one last, late gear. She put 1 1/4 lengths on the pair right before the wire. Undervalued Asset outnosed Late Frost on the line for second. The winner's final time for the seven furlongs was 1:25.01.

A $280,000 Keeneland September yearling who hammered in 2021 to BDR IV and West Point, Vahva has jumped into the deep end a number of times. She faced 'TDN Rising Star' and eventual GI Kentucky Oaks/Acorn/Test winner Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) when third in her stakes debut last December in the Untapable S. at Fair Grounds and again when fourth behind that one in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. in February at the same track. A second in a Keeneland allowance, a win in a Churchill allowance on Kentucky Oaks Day, and a third behind the late Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) in the aforementioned Victory Ride led Vahva to Charles Town and this initial graded win.

Pedigree Notes:

Vahva is the 15th graded winner and 21st overall black-type winner for Gun Runner, currently a top five North American leading general sire–quite an accomplishment for a young stallion with only his third crop of 2-year-olds now reaching the track. Gun Runner, who earned the Horse of the Year title in 2017, stands at Three Chimneys. Vahva is Gun Runner's only stakes winner out of a daughter of the late Harlan's Holiday, who died a decade ago at age 14 at Argentina's Haras Firmamento and has 53 black-type winners as a broodmare sire.

The winner's dam, Holiday Soiree, was runner-up in the 2012 edition of this race. She was most recently sold at the 2021 Keeneland November sale to Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds for $160,000. The mare produced a City of Light filly the next year, now a yearling, and a filly by Nyquist on Mar. 10. She was bred back to City of Light for next term.

.Friday, Charles Town
CHARLES TOWN OAKS-GIII, $750,000, Charles Town, 8-25, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:25.01, wf.
1–VAHVA, 118, f, 3, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Holiday Soiree (SW & GISP, $405,642),
                                by Harlan's Holiday
                2nd Dam: Try to Remember, by Include
                3rd Dam: Casanova Striker, by Smart Strike
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($280,000
Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Belladonna Racing, LLC, Edward J. Hudson,
Jr., West Point Thoroughbreds, LBD Stable LLC, Nice Guys
Stables, Manganaro Bloodstock, Runnels Racing, Steve
Hornstock and Twin Brook Stables; B-Woodford
Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Cherie DeVaux; J-John R.
Velazquez. $432,000. Lifetime Record: 9-3-2-2, $662,235.
*1/2 to Signal From Noise (Arrogate), SP, $159,190.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Undervalued Asset, 118, f, 3, Speightstown–Hard Headed
Temper, by Hard Spun. ($150,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV).
O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Speightstown Syndicate & Cloyce C.
Clark, Jr. (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $144,000.
3–Late Frost, 120, f, 3, Frosted–La La's Cookin, by Harlan's
Holiday. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Runnymoore Racing,
LLC; B-Gregory and Caroline Bentley Breeders (PA); T-Michael
Matz. $72,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NO, 6 3/4. Odds: 1.40, 3.30, 96.40.
Also Ran: Metaphysical, Lily Poo, Imonra, Interpolate, Hoosier Philly, Opus Forty Two, Chismosa. Scratched: Perfect Wish, Twice as Sweet.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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