Tag: winchell thoroughbreds

Second Chances: Gun Runner Connections ‘Hoping for Another Strike of Lightning’ with Pricey Curlin Colt Gun Party

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

With a ton of steam behind impressive debut winner Just a Touch (Justify) heading into Saturday's GIII Gotham S., the second-place finisher's come-from-behind effort over a sloppy, sealed track that day at Fair Grounds may look even better after this weekend.

Off at debut odds of 10-1 for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Gun Party (c, 3, Curlin–Carina Mia, by Malibu Moon) trailed the field of eight beneath Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the early stages of the six-furlong affair Jan. 27.

Guided to the inside to race in fifth through an opening quarter in :22.25, the Three Chimneys Farm and Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer began to wind up with a rail run as Just a Touch gained command approaching the quarter pole.

Gun Party gamely split horses and moved into second as Just a Touch pulled well clear in the stretch. Gun Party finished with interest while posing no threat to the winner to cross the line a geared-down second, beaten 4 1/4 lengths. It was another 5 1/4 lengths back to the third-place finisher.

Gun Party earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The Brad Cox-trained Just a Touch received an 89 rating.

“That looks like a really legit horse,” Three Chimneys Vice Chairman Doug Cauthen said of Just a Touch, the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Gotham.

“We were very pleased and satisfied with (Gun Party's) effort because we knew that was a tough spot. Steve (Asmussen) had mentioned that he missed some time with him–he had gotten sick–and at this point, you're hoping that you can kick along and get into the big races. But at the end of the day, Steve's just letting the horse lead him. We think a lot of him. It's a great pedigree, a great cross and there's a lot of hope. But time will tell.”

 

Carina Mia | Coady

Produced by 2016 GI Acorn S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Carina Mia (Malibu Moon), Gun Party brought $1.7 million from these connections as a yearling on day one of the 2022 Keeneland September sale to dissolve a partnership.

Gun Party, the third most expensive of 60 yearlings to switch hands by the mighty Curlin in 2022, was bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm and Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc.

Third carrying the Three Chimneys silks in her career finale in the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Carina Mia brought $2.6 million from Japan's Shadai Farm at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Gun Party is bred on the same Curlin x Malibu Moon cross as champion Stellar Wind. He is also bred similarly to fellow Curlin-sired champions Malathaat and Nest as well as Curlin-sired GISWs Clairiere, Global Campaign, Idol and Paris Lights.

“There were a bunch of partnership mares with Hill 'n' Dale, and when that group (of yearlings) went to the sale, he was a key one that was targeted,” Cauthen said. “Ron (Winchell) liked him as well so he came into the partnership. Hopefully, that team will have some more luck.”

That team of Winchell Thoroughbreds, Three Chimneys Farm and Asmussen, of course, also campaigned 2017 Horse of the Year and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}). The leading young sire currently commands a $250,000 stud fee at Goncalo Borges Torrealba's operation.

“Goncalo is very partner-friendly and usually asks the partners to name horses,” Cauthen said. “Ron's team came up with Gun Party. Think he's hoping for another strike of lightning.”

Gun Party has breezed three times since his unveiling, most recently working five furlongs in 1:01 (4/22) at Fair Grounds Feb. 25.

“I think Steve's trying to decide which direction to go,” Cauthen said. “More than likely he's gonna run in the next couple of weeks, but we're letting him decide.”

The 'Second Chances' Honor Roll is headed by recently crowned Horse of the Year Cody's Wish (Curlin), fellow two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and GISWs A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo), Honor A. P. (Honor Code), Locked (Gun Runner), Paradise Woods (Union Rags) and Speaker's Corner (Street Sense).

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Champion Echo Zulu Euthanized Following Stall Accident

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Eclipse Award-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner–Letgomyecho, by Menifee), was euthanized Sunday at the Chino Valley Equine Hospital in Southern California. Daily Racing Form was first to report the news. Trainer Steve Asmussen told the Form's Steve Andersen that the filly became cast in her stall and injured herself when trying to get back on her feet.

“She was beyond special. My condolences to all who loved her,” Asmussen told the Form.

David Fiske, who has served as the racing and farm manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds for 44 years, told TDN via phone on Monday what he knew about the Feb. 18 accident, his voice at times cracking with emotion.

“What I was told–since I wasn't there, I don't have firsthand knowledge–is that she got cast in her stall [Sunday] evening and broke her leg above the plate that had been inserted, and [worsened the injury] trying to get up. There was no real option other than euthanasia.”

Bred in Kentucky by Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby, Echo Zulu was hammered down to Winchell Thoroughbreds for $300,000 from the Betz Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Sale. A highly impressive debut winner at Saratoga in July 2021, Echo Zulu took the GI Spinaway S. and GI Frizette S. by open lengths and locked up the Eclipse Award with a dominating 5 1/4-length success in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar.

 

 

Kept around two turns for the first half of her sophomore season, the bay wired the GII Fair Grounds Oaks, but didn't see out the nine-furlong trip of the GI Kentucky Oaks and finished a close third. Returned to sprint trips for the rest of the season–and her career–she posted a towering victory in the GIII Dogwood S. that September and ran Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) to 2 1/2 lengths when runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Kept in training at four, Echo Zulu took out the GIII Winning Colors S. with a then career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure, but she upped her game further still, romping by 7 1/4 lengths in Saratoga's GII Honorable Miss H. in July before overpowering Goodnight Olive in the GI Ballerina H. She earned 112 Beyers for both efforts. She was training towards a start in the Breeders' Cup when she suffered fractured sesamoids in an October workout, underwent surgery and had remained at the clinic since.

In the estimation of 70 voters, Echo Zulu was the top filly and mare sprinter of 2023, but Goodnight Olive secured 142 first-place votes after defending her Filly & Mare Sprint title at Santa Anita and took home the statuette for the second straight year.

Up until the stall accident, Fiske said Echo Zulu's post-surgery recovery had been progressing on an optimistic arc.

“It had been going really well,” he said. “Steve [Asmussen] and I had been talking about her on Saturday morning, how she was getting very close to being able to travel. We kind of saw on the horizon her getting to a point where she could walk onto an airplane and come back to Lexington. So she was very close.”

Fiske added that the reality of Echo Zulu's passing still hasn't sunk in for him or those directly involved in her care.

“Even though I knew about the situation [Sunday] evening, and had anticipated having to deal with these questions and text messages and whatever else today, even with the lead time, I still don't have the vocabulary to adequately express what she meant to us and what she meant to our program,” he said.

In a social media posting on the X platform, Michael Levinson, the racing manager and a partner of L & N Racing, wrote: “Extremely sad and upset about the passing of Echo Zulu, she was a true champion and will forever be in our hearts at L & N Racing. Rest in peace champ.”

Added Ron Winchell: “It's devastating and beyond sad for our team. This happened at a point when we were just starting to feel good about her recovery. She is absolutely irreplaceable.”

A half-sister to fellow 'Rising Star' Echo Town (Speightstown) and GSW J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), Echo Zulu posted a record of 9-1-0 from 11 starts and amassed earnings of $2,640,375.

–Additional reporting by T.D. Thornton

 

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Winchell Homebred Recharge Collects 20 Kentucky Oaks Points At Sunland

Recharge (Gun Runner) wound up banking 20 points in her Kentucky Oaks checking account after she got the money at Sunland Park on Sunday afternoon.

The homebred arrived in El Paso with two wins to her credit in as many races. Breaking her maiden by nine lengths in mid-December at Remington Park, the filly shipped to Houston and passed the two-turn test when she cleared the allowance ranks with a 4-3/4 win Jan. 21.

Sent on her way at odds of 2-1 here, the 3-year-old established a lead heading into the first turn and continued to modulate the pace up front along the backstretch. With the field bearing down on her position around the far turn, Recharge responded to Joel Rosario's urging past the eighth pole, turned back a major challenge from Candy Aisle (Gun Runner) and poked her head across the wire in time.

The winner has a 2-year-old full-brother named Remix and a yearling half-brother by Silver State. A full-sister to MGSW and sire Tapiture, and also to SW Retap and GSW Rotation, Remit was bred to Epicenter for this season.

SUNLAND PARK OAKS, $250,000, Sunland, 2-18, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:37.27, ft.
1–RECHARGE, 121, f, 3, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Remit (MSW, $257,556), by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Free Spin, by Olympio
                3rd Dam: Spin n Win, by Private Account
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $148,500. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $189,498. *1/2 to Reride (Candy Ride {Arg}), MSW-USA, GSP-UAE, $461,010; 1/2 to Finite (Munnings), MGSW & GISP, $849,869.
2–Candy Aisle, 121, f, 3, Gun Runner–Rosalie Road, by Street Cry (Ire). ($250,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $350,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Randy Andrews, Jim Cone, Brad King and Lee Lewis; B-Gun Runner Syndicate & C. W. Swann (KY); T-Todd W. Fincher. $54,450.
3–Simply Enchanting, 121, f, 3, Nyquist–Enchante, by Bluegrass Cat. ($475,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-MyRacehorse, Old Bones Racing Stable, LLC and Platts, Joey; B-Jumping Jack Racing LLC (KY); T-Philip D'Amato. $24,750.
Margins: NK, 4, 4. Odds: 2.30, 2.30, 0.90.
Also Ran: Methods, Raspberry Wine. Scratched: Floating Beauty.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Travers Runner-Up Disarm Reloading for 2024

Disarm (c, 4, Gun Runner–Easy Tap, by Tapit), sidelined since finishing a closing second behind Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga Aug. 26, has returned to training with Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen at the Fair Grounds.

A respectable fourth at 27-1 in the GI Kentucky Derby, last term's GIII Matt Winn S. winner and GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby runner-up exited his second-place finish in the Travers with bone bruising, per David Fiske, longtime advisor to owner/breeder Ron Winchell.

“He was walking visibly off after the Travers,” Fiske said. “Got him back to the barn and whipped out the X-ray machine. We were all standing there looking at the X-rays and everybody looked at one another and went, 'Do you see anything? I don't see anything.' So, that was a big relief that it wasn't anything more serious. We got him down to Lexington and he was diagnosed with some bone bruising.”

He added, “We weren't gonna make any significant races at the end of the year, so we said, 'Let's just give him as much time off as he needs.'”

Following approximately nine weeks of recommended downtime, a positron emission tomography (PET) scan revealed that Disarm still “had some spots that lit up on him” and he was given an additional 30 days off before returning to training.

The 'TDN Rising Star' now has a pair of four-furlong breezes under his belt since returning to the worktab in New Orleans, stopping the clock in :53.80 (42/43) Jan. 8 and :50.80 (18/26) Jan. 18, respectively.

“We gave him some extra time and now he's back,” Fiske said. “He looks great, travels great and has always been a great-looking horse. Hopefully, we can make some noise with him this year.”

Disarm recorded four straight triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures last year, beginning with his aforementioned effort on the first Saturday in May. He earned a career-high 103 Beyer over a muddy surface in the Travers, his first career start racing with blinkers. The handsome chestnut has posted a record of 9-2-3-2 and career earnings of $1,000,200.

While acknowledging that it's still very early days, Fiske said that this summer's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga, a race won by his leading sire in 2017, could be in play for the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred.

“Given the level at which he ran last year, if he can get back to that, then you'd expect to see him in some of the bigger or biggest races around,” Fiske said. “It would be kinda cool if we could get him cranked up for the Whitney, but that's a long way off. We're gonna need to get some more works. He's still pretty early stages.”

One of nine 'Rising Stars' for Gun Runner, Disarm is a half-brother to Venezuelan champion stayer Tap Daddy (Scat Daddy), who was also a stakes winner and graded-stakes placed on these shores. Disarm's dam Easy Tap, a $300,000 FTKJUL yearling purchase, won one of five career starts.

The Gun Runner over Tapit cross, two of the best to ever carry the maroon-and-white Winchell silks, is already off to a flying start via GI Cotillion S. heroine Society; MGSW and GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint third Wicked Halo; GSW & GISP Red Route One; and GSW & GISP Il Miracolo.

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