Tag: Steve Asmussen

Dec. 9 Insights: Debuters for Royalty at Oaklawn Park

4th-OP, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 2:54p.m. ET
A $350,000 FTSAUG purchase for HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, RIDE FOR SUL (Candy Ride {Arg}) looks to open his tab as 2023 winds down to a close. Out of Southern Honey (Colonel John), winner of the GIII Winning Colors S. and graded-placed on two other occasions, the colt hails from the same female family which yielded MGSW & MGISP Runway Model and her son MGISW McKinzie (Street Sense). Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Keith Asmussen, the morning line currently tabs him at 5-1 odds. TJCIS PPs

8th-OP, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 4:46p.m. ET
Another debuter for His Royal Highness on the card is Imperial Gun (Gun Runner), who is also trained and ridden by the Asmussens. The field here looks to be a competitive one with several six figure auction grads and one seven-figure sale from KEESEP with redemption to find. The dark bay colt was a pick-up from KEEJAN for $375,000, and has two other winning siblings. Second dam GSW & MGISP Memorette couldn't quite reproduce her talent, but nonetheless hailed from a family rife with talent–she was one of five multiple winners for her own dam–which included GISP Fondly Remembered and MGSP Paradise Found. TJCIS PPs

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Clairiere and Pauline’s Pearl Retired to Stonestreet

Stonestreet homebreds and Grade I winners Clairiere (m, 5, Curlin-Cavorting, by Bernardini) and Pauline's Pearl (m, 5, Tapit-Hot Dixie Chick, by Dixie Union) have been retired, the Central Kentucky farm said on X Wednesday. Both were trained by Steve Asmussen for their four years on the racetrack and have returned to their birthplace.

Clairiere captured four Grade I events throughout her career, including back-to-back editions of the GI Ogden Phipps S. in 2022-23. Last seen finishing fourth in Saturday's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, she retires with a record of 22-8-6-3 and earnings of $3,266,392.

Winner of the 2022 GI La Troienne S., Pauline's Pearl last visited the winner's circle in her penultimate race in the GII Fleur de Lis S. this summer. She retires with a record of 20-8-3-3 and earnings of $2,146,800.

Stonestreet indicated both mares will join the farm's broodmare band, but breeding plans are yet to be determined.

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Gunite Retired to Ashford; Stud Fee Set at $35k

Gunite (Gun Runner–Simple Surprise, by Cowboy Cal), a two-time Grade I winner and runner-up behind champion Elite Power (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, has been retired from racing and will stand at Coolmore America's Ashford Stud for 2024. His fee has been set at $35,000.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred defeated the aforementioned two-time Breeders' Cup Sprint winner in this summer's GI Forego S. at Saratoga. Gunite also won the GI Hopeful S. during his 2-year-old season and the GII Amsterdam S. at three, both at Saratoga. His loaded resume also includes a close second to Elite Power in this summer's GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H., a runner-up finish in the 2022 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. and a third-place finish in this year's G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen.

“Gunite is extremely important to horse racing in the current climate,” Asmussen said. “He was Gun Runner's first starter for us in April of his 2-year-old year and ran six times in his juvenile campaign and won the Grade I Hopeful at Saratoga. He then travelled to California to work with the brilliant Echo Zulu because he is the only thing that I had that could be comparable company for her, and he won four stakes races at Churchill, Keeneland and Saratoga. As a 4-year-old, he then travelled to Saudi Arabia and Dubai and competed at the highest level and returned to the U.S. to beat his rival Elite Power in the Grade I Forego S. at Saratoga. He is a very special horse to race at the level he has for as long as he has and do it consistently.”

Asmussen added, “I'm a walking infomercial for Gunite. I apologize in advance. I am such a huge fan of his. The story of Gunite is so unique as in the first crop of Gun Runners, in Laredo, I laugh at it to myself because you want Gun Runner to do well, and you're nervous as to whether they'll be any good when they're yearlings. They all look good, but we all know how looking good and running can be different. And looking around the barn at my dad's place over the holidays at the Gun Runners, and Gunite's out of a nice precocious family we've had success with, and I immediately identify him as the Gun Runner you're going to come out with. He was our first starter for Gun Runner, in April of his 2-year-old year. He ends up running six times as a 2-year-old, second in the Saratoga Special, wins the Hopeful at Saratoga, and I reward him off of six runs and a Grade I win at Saratoga by taking him to California because I don't want to change Echo Zulu's workmate leading into the Breeders' Cup. So not only does he have the six runs as a 2-year-old, he's got three stiff works with her, because he's the only thing good enough to work with her leading up the Breeders' Cup, and then as a 3-year-old, he wins three stakes, at Churchill, Keeneland, and another graded stake at Saratoga. And then as a 4-year-old, he goes to Saudi, Dubai, wins another Grade I at Saratoga against Elite Power, finishes off 21 races with 17 firsts and seconds at the highest level, running I believe a 2 3/4 Rag in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, and is enough horse to pass the regulatory veterinarian scenario that we're racing under now. That's how important a horse to racing he is now. He's unbelievable. Needless to say, I am a huge fan of his. He's still running 3 Rags at this stage of his career. Incredilble.”

What qualities will make him a good stallion?

“First and foremost, his ability,” Asmussen said. “He's obviously got a tremendous amount of ability. He's extremely attractive. He's very correct. He's unbelievably sound. He is everything horse racing needs right now. For me, he's got tremendous balance. He's very smooth. He's a very athletic horse, smooth as can be, great balance. He looks a picture from all angles. Just great constitution. Always a tremendous appetite, no matter where in the world he is, day before the race or the day after. He's very strong mentally and physically. Unbelievably honest. Extremely straightforward, has a ton of confidence about him, not overly aggressive, but always, always capable if needed. How important he is under the current climate is what's amazing. Six runs as a 2-year-old, starting in April racing at that level, running his fastest he's ever run on his 21st run, on seven or eight different surfaces at the highest level.”

Owner/breeder Ron Winchell added, “Like many of the Gun Runners, Gunite got better and better throughout his racing career and gave us many great days. We also raced his first and second dams and they were both stakes winners at Saratoga. Gunite has retired sound and I very much look forward to supporting him at stud.”

“He was unusual in that he was top class at two, three and four, he was one of the best sprinters in the country and had top Beyer figures of 108 at both Saratoga and Churchill,” said Ashford's Director of Sales Charlie O'Connor. “He's a very good-looking horse and we can't wait for breeders to see him.”

Gunite retires with a record of 21-9-8-2 and earnings of $2,493,009.

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Dr. Ryan Carpenter Gives Update on Echo Zulu Surgery

Veterinarian Ryan Carpenter told Zoe Cadman on this week's TDN Writers' Room that Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) continues to do well five days after surgery to repair broken sesamoids in her left front leg.

“The surgery went very well,” Carpenter told Cadman on her weekly segment, 1/ST Things 1/ST at Santa Anita. “We did a fetlock arthrodesis and we used a new plate called a distal femoral plate, which is an application from the human world to incorporate the pastern joint in our repair, because we were really worried about the integrity of the pastern joint and our biggest fear in these kinds of cases is that they subluxate their pastern in the weeks following surgery and that usually results in support-limb laminitis. So we're very proactive to address that problem in order to hedge our bets down the line.”

That said, Carpenter underscored that Echo Zulu still has a long way to go.

“We still have a long road ahead of us as. I've said before, these horses really aren't out of the woods for the next four to six weeks,” Dr. Carpenter said. “There's a lot that can go wrong. but we take each day by day and so far she's done really well, bearing equal weight, using her casted leg well so we're very encouraged initially in how things look and we'll keep our fingers crossed that we continue to have positive days. Every positive day is one day closer to a successful outcome.”

Cadman asked Carpenter what kind of patient Echo Zulu was.

“She has been awesome,” he said. “One of the things that I look for, honestly, is do they lie down and she has spent a lot of time lying down. Initially, she spent a lot of time lying down after surgery. She's up using her leg a lot more, so she's more comfortable, but she still lies down at night and sleeps and takes care of herself, and really when you're talking about these horses that develop laminitis, the best thing for a surgeon is a horse that lies down, because they unload their weight. They let the blood flow get to the feet and that's a real positive thing for us so hopefully she continues to do that in the coming weeks and that will bode well for us in the end.”

Cadman asked if there was any concern with her injuring herself trying to stand after lying down and Carpenter said that there was not.

“The accidents they have getting up are usually related to general anesthesia. So usually, these horses are asleep, and they're often uncoordinated when they get up. But if you look at a horse who stands up in the stall, it's actually a very slow, methodical process. They do it all the time. Horses lie down most of the time every day and they get up really well, and you watch them, and a lot of times, they'll protect a casted leg they'll do stuff to help themselves, and so the lying down in the stall, in the barn, is a good thing.”

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