Gun Runner

GI Arkansas Derby runner-up Silent Tactic (Tacitus) worked Sunday morning at Oaklawn Park and was joined by a fleet of Kentucky Oaks hopefuls as well with preparations continuing on the march to May. The Mark Casse trainee worked an easy half-mile over a fast track Sunday morning with regular rider Cristian Torres in the irons. Clocking an opening quarter-mile in :24.80, he covered the four furlongs in :49.40 (26/58) before galloping out five panels in 1:02.80 and six in 1:17.60. It was his final local breeze before shipping out to...

Third in the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Keeneland's opening weekend, Talkin (Good Magic) will skip the GI Kentucky Derby and be pointed toward the GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park by trainer Danny Gargan. Eleven lengths behind 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Further Ado (Gun Runner) as that one dominated the Blue Grass, Talkin would be the trainer's chief hope for a second win in the Triple Crown series behind Dornoch, also a son of Good Magic, who claimed the GI Belmont Stakes in 2024. Gargan said...

As we acknowledged a week ago, the contributions made by these horses to what we can turn into a narrative are wholly random. But it has meanwhile felt almost as though Gun Runner wanted to prove otherwise, after watching Into Mischief's feisty response to the spectacle of Not This Time stealing an early march in the general sires' table. Gun Runner's role in that exchange was to retreat sulkily to the wings, lamenting the injury to his top Classic prospect Paladin. Well, he's obviously too good for that. On the...

So Happy (Runhappy) was in fine fettle the morning after winning Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby. Saturday's Santa Anita Derby program drew an on-track crowd of 37,562, the highest for Santa Anita Derby Day since 2018. "He ate good and looked great this morning," trainer Mark Glatt said. "He seems to be in good spirits." The Santa Anita Derby was So Happy's second time racing around two turns. Previously, in the GII San Felipe going 1 1/16, So Happy was up close to sharp pace and yielded late to finish...

Douglas Scharbauer and Three Chimneys Farm's Always a Runner (Gun Runner) collared the pacesetting Pashmina (Constitution) late to win Saturday's GIII Gazelle at Aqueduct. In victory, the Chad Brown-trainee secured the maximum allotment of 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks points on offer to the top-five finishers. "She looks good this morning," said Brown on Easter Sunday. "I'll speak to the owners later [Sunday]. I'm inclined to go on to the Oaks with her. She only ran twice, but she looks super this morning. You deal with 14 horses instead of 20, I...

Keeneland's spring meet has kicked off and the GI Kentucky Derby is less than a month away. Let's take a look back at the recently concluded first quarter of 2026, where we got to enjoy 78 (19%) of the 410 graded races scheduled domestically for this year. Thus far in 2026, the 78 graded races already run can be categorized as six Grade I events, 21 Grade II, and 51 Grade III. Eight tracks across the country hosted graded races, led by Gulfstream Park's 24 and Santa Anita's 22. There...

Meaning (f, 3, Gun Runner--Figure of Speech, by Into Mischief), a Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners colorbearer, proved her win over Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly Super Corredora (Gun Runner) in the Las Virgenes Stakes Feb. 8 was no fluke and asserted herself as California's division leader with a resounding victory in the GII Santa Anita Oaks Saturday. The Santa Anita Oaks awards 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points toward the May 1 GI Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. The complexion of Saturday's race changed shortly out of the gate when GIII Santa...

'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Always A Runner (Gun Runner) wore down pacesetter Pashmina (Constitution) in the final sixteenth to win Saturday's GIII Gazelle Stakes and earn 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. The least experienced runner in the field with just one start under her belt, the seven-figure yearling impressed at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 6, drawing off to win that debut by 6 1/2 lengths. Lacking any early speed from the gate on a surface that had taken a bit of rain just before...

Further Ado (Gun Runner) announced his presence with a jaw-dropping 20-length maiden win at Keeneland last fall. The 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' returns to Lexington as the horse to beat in Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass S., good for 100-50-25-15-10 points to the top five finishers on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Spendthrift Farm colorbearer was a workmanlike winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs Nov. 29, then kicked off his 3-year-old campaign with a solid second-place finish behind The Puma (Essential...

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack provides analysis for Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, GI Santa Anita Derby and GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct. All three offer 100-50-25-15-10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Last Saturday's Results - Commandment (Into Mischief) established himself as one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby with a thrilling last-to-first victory at 9-5 in the GI Curlin Florida Derby. Blackout Time (Not This Time) sat the trip I was looking for just behind the leaders, but had...

Payson Stud's breeding program has been a fixture in the Thoroughbred industry for more than four decades, built by the late Virginia Kraft Payson. Since Mrs. Payson's passing in 2023, trustee Christian Erickson has carried her legacy forward, and I've been fortunate to serve as bloodstock advisor to the program. Our goal in recent years has been simple: upgrade the broodmare band. That goal led to some of the hardest--and best--decisions we've made. Together with the team at Gainesway Farm, we sold foundation mare Summer Sweet, the dam of champion...

4th-KEE, $110K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 2:36 p.m. ET. PHANTOM BLUE (Ghostzapper), a Resolute Racing purchase for $1.2-million during the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, was sent to trainer Brendan Walsh. Out of the winning Seeking the Blue (Arch), the filly is a half-sister to MGSP Janis Joplin (California Chrome), MSP Vino Rouge (Vino Rosso) and as of Mar. 27 she has a new half-brother by Not This Time. Phantom Blue's third dam is MGSW Atlantic Ocean (Stormy Atlantic). On the same Speightstown-Medaglia d'Oro cross that yielded current sires...