Gun Song Upsets The Beldame

Friday's GII Beldame Stakes, scratched down to just four horses with the morning diversion of Majestic Oops (Majestic Harbor) to Sunday's GIII Delaware Handicap, still had plenty of drama as 9-2 shot Gun Song (Gun Runner) sprung the upset on heavily-favored Randomized (Nyquist) to break a winless streak that dated back over a year.

Mark Hennig's 4-year-old filly has been plenty game and plenty consistent facing the best of her division the past two years, even running reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) to the wire just a neck behind in last year's GI Cotillion at Parx. But this bridesmaid, kept out of the winner's circle since a gate-to-wire victory in last year's Cathryn Sophia Stakes in late August, finally got her moment back in the limelight with a beautifully-ridden trip by John Velazquez.

Breaking to the inside of 2-5 favorite Randomized, Gun Song allowed that rival to go on with things and take Margie's Intention (Honor A.P.) with her up to the front. Settling third along the rail, she whipped-in that top group as longshot Just Music (Audible) struggled to keep up and was several lengths out of it through the opening furlongs. Velazquez stayed motionless over his filly past the half in :47.26 even as Manny Franco aboard Margie's Intention had already begun to move into the far turn. That filly lacked an initial response and dropped back leaving Randomized dangerously alone on the lead nearing the quarter pole.

But Gun Song was still cruising along and really picked up the bridle once tipped out of the favorite's shadow to come wide after her. A brief duel ensued but it was clear from sixteenth marker on that Gun Song was ready for her moment. A re-surging Margie's Intention was back rolling down the outside and made things interesting for Randomized in a fight for second which came down to a photo for the minor placings.

“Very satisfying,” said Hennig. “When you kind of put one away in mid-July and say, 'I'm going to point to one race in September,' you're putting some pressure on yourself. I said after that race in July that I'm just going to get her ready for one try, and if she runs well, we'll talk about whether she deserves a trip to California [for the Breeders' Cup]. I'm glad it went well. So many things can go wrong in this game. She got a really nice trip today, Johnny [Velazquez] rode her well, my help did a great job with her, and everything went well. We finally got her feet right. Ian McKinlay has shod her the last two times and she really responds to him. He's done a great job with her and got her going the right [way]. We had a really good 60 days since her last effort.”

And while the Beldame is not part of the Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' series, it is part of their Dirt Dozen Bonus Series in which horses finishing in the top three earn a tiered bonus which can be utilized towards pre-entry and entry fees at Del Mar come Breeders' Cup weekend. Hennig noted that the Breeders' Cup may, or may not, be on the horizon for Gun Song

“You've got some more preps to go and these races have a chance to start falling apart, especially with these older horses as they get closer [to the Breeders' Cup], so we'll see how she comes out of it, see how the other races go and evaluate whether that's the right move,” he said.

Pedigree Notes:

Gun Song is one of 46 stakes winners for Three Chimneys sensation Gun Runner who continues to go from strength to strength off a huge week at Keeneland September which saw him sire the top two highest-priced hips led by the $3,300,000 sale-stopping son of Thoughtfully. First dam Nicole H earned over $800,000 in her own racing career, winning the GII Distaff Handicap and picking up a placing in the GI Princess Rooney Handicap to boot before retiring to the shed. From eight foals on the ground, five have raced and two are winners including her 6-year-old son of Arrogate named Alwareeth. Gun Song was a $400,000 pickup for Lee Lewis out of OBS March in 2023. Lewis had a breakout year in 2024 largely in part to Gun Song though his best earner to date is the millionaire Mystic Lady (Thunder Gulch). Nicole H saw her yearling Practical Joke colt named Nobody's Laughing bring $200,000 at Keeneland earlier in the month and she reported a filly by Proxy this season before visiting Gunite for 2026.

Friday, Belmont At The Big A
BELDAME S.-GII, $232,500, Belmont The Big A, 9-26, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8m, 1:49.45, ft.
1–GUN SONG, 124, f, 4, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Nicole H (GSW & GISP, $811,144),
                                by Mr. Greeley
                2nd Dam: Hot Chipotle, by Victory Gallop
                3rd Dam: Cajun Cat, by Storm Cat
($120,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $400,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-R. Lee Lewis; B-Marianne Stribling (KY); T-Mark A. Hennig; J-John Velazquez. $137,500. Lifetime Record: 16-5-5-2, $915,720. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Randomized, 124, m, 5, Nyquist–French Passport, by Elusive Quality. ($420,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Cove Springs, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $50,000.
3–Margie's Intention, 120, f, 3, Honor A. P.–Playful Dancer, by Into Mischief. ($57,000 Ylg '23 FTKOCT; $185,000 2yo '24 OBSAPR). O-WinStar Farm LLC and Tom Mueller; B-Coteau Grove Farms, LLC (LA); T-Brad H. Cox. $30,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NK, 35. Odds: 4.77, 0.42, 2.60.
Also Ran: Just Music. Scratched: Majestic Oops.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

GUN SONG upsets the Grade 2 Beldame Stakes at 9/2 under @ljlmvel for trainer @Hennigracing, earning credits toward @BreedersCup Distaff entry fees! pic.twitter.com/BgWHgyLYkA

— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) September 26, 2025