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Heavy Favorite Abaan Extends Win Streak In W.L. McKnight

Heavy favorite Abaan rolled to a 2½ length victory Saturday in the $200,000 W.L. McKnight Stakes (G3) to extend his win streak to three races.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher won the W.L. McKnight for the fourth time.

Abaan, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Alex Daigneault, was sent off as the 3-2 favorite in the field of 12 after his easy gate-to-wire victory in the 2-mile H. Allen Jerkens on Dec. 26. Under leading rider Luis Saez, Abaan pressed the pace set by King Cause through early fractions of 25.39 seconds, 50.38, 1:15.43. The 5-year-old son of Will Take Charge seized the lead in the third and final turn of the 1½ miles turf race and had no challengers in the stretch and paid $5.00.

Temple was second in the McKnight for the second-straight year. Media Blitz was third.

$200,000 W.L. McKnight (G3) Quotes

Winning trainer Todd Pletcher (Abaan): “We anticipated that he wouldn't be on the lead today, and we felt like he could be effective without having it. It was nice to see him prove that. I think it opens up a lot of options for him in terms of the way he needs to be ridden.”

“He went to the far turn and he was pretty authoritative when he took the lead and spread the race open right there. It looked like he finished with good energy.”

“There's a lot of options. He's been invited to Saudi for the long race there. We nominated to Dubai. We'll see how he comes out of it and I'll talk to [the owners] and we'll come up with a game plan. He's doing so well here at Gulfstream, there's another option or two here. There are some big prizes we'll have to take a look at.”

Winning jockey Luis Saez (Abaan): “We tried to break from there and see if someone took the lead, we could be in the perfect spot. Everything worked out pretty great, like the plan. When we came to the top of the stretch, he just took off.”

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Late-Developing Abaan Takes On Maker Quartet In Friday’s H. Allen Jerkens Stakes

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Alex Daigneault's Abaan will be outnumbered in the $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens at Gulfstream Park Friday when the Todd Pletcher-trained 4-year-old gelding will take on four Mike Maker-trained rivals in the two-mile turf race honoring the memory of the legendary Hall of Fame trainer.

The late-developing son of Will Take Charge will also be making his stakes debut while conceding experience to the well-tried Maker trainees in the Race 10 feature on a 10-race program.

Following a three-race juvenile campaign with a pair of runner-up finishes at Churchill Downs, Abaan has demonstrated marked improvement this year after being privately purchased and transferred to Pletcher. Since switching from dirt to turf, the Kentucky-bred has won twice and finished second twice. In his most recent start, Abaan register a front-running two-length victory in a 1 3/8-mile optional claiming allowance at Aqueduct Nov. 14.

Luis Saez has the call on Abaan.

Paradise Farm Corp. and David Staudacher's Ajourneytofreedom tops the Maker contingent. The multiple graded stakes-placed son of Hard Spun finished fifth in the John's Call and won a 1 ½-mile optional claiming allowance at Saratoga in his two most recent non-graded stakes starts.

Paco Lopez is scheduled to ride the 4-year-old gelding for the first time in the Jerkens.

Michael Ryan's Bluegrass Parkway, who finished third in the 1 ½-mile Point of Entry at Belmont Park last time out; Three Diamonds Farm's Jarreau, who finished second behind Abaan in the Nov. 14 optional claiming allowance; and Paradise Farm Corp. and David Staudacher's Malthael, a 1 ½-mile optional claiming allowance winner at Keeneland two starts back; will also represent the Maker Stable Saturday.

Bloom Racing Stable and trainer Ignacio Correas IV's Fantasioso looms as a strong contender looking to his second-place finish in the two-mile Belmont Gold Cup (G2) in June. Rice Racing's On Base, trainer Marcy Brooks' Cheyenne's Colonel, San Jose de Ecuador and Luis Duco Stable Inc.'s Nixon Joy, round out the field.

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Red-Hot Gun Runner Leads Three Chimneys’ 2022 Roster At $125,000

Three Chimneys confirmed its roster and announced its fees for the 2022 breeding season.

The marquee stallion for the upcoming breeding season is clearly Horse of the Year Gun Runner, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise with his first crop of runners. He is the sire of five individual stakes winners including undefeated multiple Grade 1 Winner Echo Zulu, winner of the G1 Spinaway and the G1 Frizette. In addition, he has sired Grade 1 Hopeful winner Gunite, as well as Grade 2 winners Pappacap and Wicked Halo.

The extraordinary exploits of his progeny have landed him atop both the freshman sire list as well as the 2-year-old sire list worldwide. His yearlings sold for up to $975,000.

The 2022 fees are as follows:

Gun Runner – $125,000 Live Foal Stands and Nurses
Volatile – $15,000 Live Foal Stands and Nurses
Palace Malice – $12,500 Live Foal Stands and Nurses
Sky Mesa – $12,500 Live Foal Stands and Nurses
Sharp Azteca – $5,000 Live Foal Stands and Nurses
Will Take Charge – $5,000 Live Foal Stands and Nurses
Funtastic – $5,000 Live Foal Stands and Nurses

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Gun Runner to $125,000 at Three Chimneys

Leading first-crop sire Gun Runner will see a substantial fee raise for the 2022 breeding season, when his live-foal-stands-and-nurses fee will get a hike to $125,000. He stood for $50,000 in 2021.

Gun Runner is the sire of five individual stakes winners, including undefeated multiple Grade I winner Echo Zulu, winner of the Spinaway S. and the Frizette S. He is also the sire of GI Hopeful winner Gunite, as well as Grade II winners Pappacap and Wicked Halo. On the first-crop sire list, he leads by earnings, black type winners, graded stakes winners and horses, and Grade I winners and horses.

He is also the leading sire of 2yos, and his yearlings have sold at auction for up to $975,000.

The 2017 Horse of the Year, Gun Runner started his career at $70,000 in 2020, but was trimmed to $50,000 in 2021 as part of an overall reduction of fees at Three Chimneys due to COVID-19.

Palace Malice sees a reduction from $20,000 to $12,500.

The complete roster with fees at Three Chimneys for 2022 follows. All fees are live foal, stands and nurses.

Gun Runner, $125,000

Volatile, $15,000

Palace Malice, $12,500

Sky Mesa, $12,500

Sharp Azteca, $5,000

Will Take Charge, $5,000

Funtastic, $5,000