Gun Runner

8th-FG, $50k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 5:45 p.m. ET WICKED AGAIN (Gun Runner), a full-brother to MGSW and last term's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint third-place finisher Wicked Halo, kicks off his career for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. The Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred, drawn on the inside in post two and favored on the morning line at 5-2, fired back-to-back, five-furlong bullets for this, including a 1:00 2/5 (1/8) drill Feb. 21. Wicked Again's dam Just Wicked (Tapit) won the 2015 GII Adirondack S. at Saratoga. The field of...

Bob Baffert has issued an upbeat bulletin on his Saudi Cup contenders and said that, if for whatever reason his short-priced favourite Taiba (Gun Runner) does not get the job done, then stablemate and last year's runner-up Country Grammer (Tonalist) should be there to pick up the pieces in the world's richest race on Saturday.  The Saudi Cup is one of the only big dirt races that has eluded Baffert and, along with Country Grammer, the American handler has sent out Charlatan to fill the runner-up spot to Mishriff (Ire)...

The 41st renewal of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Nov. 1 and 2, 2024, officials at the organization announced Thursday. It will be the third time the seaside oval has played host to the event. "We are delighted to announce that the World Championships will be returning to Del Mar next year for what is sure to be an unforgettable two-year-run on the West Coast," said Drew Fleming, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. This year's Breeders' Cup races take place at...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 8th-OP, $103K, OC, 3yo, 1m, 5:10 p.m. Last year at this time, Epicenter (Not This Time) was making his case as the Derby favorite after declaring victory in the GII Risen S. at Fair Grounds. This Sunday in Hot Springs, another Winchell Thoroughbreds-owned colt, DISARM (Gun Runner), who is a Triple Crown nominee, will begin to layout his own path to be in the starting gate in early May. A game third on debut to GIII Sanford S. victor Mo Strike (Uncle Mo) at Churchill...

With recently crowned champion 3-year-old Epicenter (Not This Time) off to begin his career at stud at Ashford, the team behind the popular GI Runhappy Travers S. winner have some highly regarded reinforcements on the way. Disarm (c, 3, Gun Runner--Easy Tap, by Tapit), off since earning his 'TDN Rising Star' badge in runaway fashion at second asking on the Whitney undercard at Saratoga last summer, could return versus allowance company at Oaklawn later this month. The Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred, previously highlighted in our 'Second Chances' series following a smart...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 10th-SA, $67K, Msw, 3yo, 6fT, 8:09 p.m. Breaking from the far outside post in the nightcap at the Great Race Place, NUCLEAR (Justify) looks to start earning back some of his $1,550,000 price tag with a turf debut for trainer John Sadler. Out of GIII Schuylerville S. runner-up True Feelings (Latent Heat), the colt is a half-brother to SW Feeling Mischief (Into Mischief) and GSP Royal Act (American Pharoah) while Metro, his 2-year-old half-brother by Quality Road, outshone his brother in sales ring by bringing...

For Chuck Fipke, Saturday could have gone better. His Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) finished fourth in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. and with a better trip might have been closer. "That's the way horse racing is," the owner and breeder said. "I was kind of disappointed. For every time you do well in this sport, it seems that you are disappointed 50 times." Not that Fipke was complaining. With his having nearly died just 15 days before the race, it's easy to keep things in perspective. On Jan....

2nd-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 1-28, 3yo, 7f, 1:22.54, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. MAGE (c, 3, Good Magic--Puca {SW & GSP, $299,406}, by Big Brown), dismissed by the betting public at 11-1 in his debut start despite selling for $290,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale, avoided trouble with a forward ride out of the gate, setting the early pace from just off the rail. Positioned inside of pressure from Perform (Good Magic) through the half-mile in :45.88, Mage hit his best stride past the quarter pole and drew off nicely down...

Gold Square LLC's MGISW Cyberknife (Gun Runner), last seen finishing a narrow second to Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, is scheduled to make the final start of his racing career Saturday at Gulfstream Park as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The Pegasus World Cup will headline a 13-race program also featuring the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, the GIII TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and four other graded-stakes races totaling $5.3 million...

8th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 1-14, 3yo, 1m, 1:39.18, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. KINGSBARNS (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Lady Tapit {GSP}, by Tapit), an $800,000 2-year-old purchase by Spendthrift Farm out of the Gulfstream Sale last year, rewarded his backers as the 3-1 favorite in his debut start. Fourth in the early going while racing a path off the rail, Kingsbarns began to inch up into the far turn and found racing room between rivals as the top trio straightened into the lane. Game Warden (Tapit) closed with a run to be second...

by Jessica Owers and Oz Wedmore, TDNAusNZ Case Clay was in the headlines last month with his announcement that, after 20 years with Three Chimneys Farm, he was going solo. This week he finds himself on the Gold Coast, and we caught up with him to learn a little more about the next chapter of his career. Nearly 20 years ago, American bloodstock agent Case Clay did an interview with a local Kentucky newspaper. He said that succession, complicated as it was when it came to family business, didn't always...

As we approach the opening of the 2023 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. First up: Bobby Flay. AMERICA (m, 12, A. P. Indy--Lacadena, by Fasliyev), booked to Gun Runner As she continues to produce quality foals, including MGSW First Captain (Curlin), the co-sales topper at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale for $1.5 million, and his full-sister, who sold for $2 million at Saratoga last August, I'm excited to see...