Under the 'Gun' for the Whitney

In a handicap division that is at least slightly more open than it was prior to the running of the GII San Diego H. two weeks ago, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm's Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) has a chance to narrow the gap further still when he heads a field of seven set to go postward in Saturday's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga Race Course.

Third to 'TDN Rising Star' Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), beaten 15 lengths, in last year's GI Travers S., the sleek chestnut was runner-up in the GII Pennsylvania Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile before easily handling Breaking Lucky (Lookin at Lucky) in the GI Clark H. And he's been even better in 2017. Since being forced to pass on a rematch with Arrogate in the GI Pegasus Invitational S. in January, Gun Runner has logged three monster efforts: wins in the GIII Razorback S. and GI Stephen Foster H. around a race in the G1 Dubai World Cup that would have been a winning one 99 times out of a hundred, but for an impossible effort from Arrogate.

“He's always improving,” regular jockey Florent Geroux told the NYRA notes team. “I tell the owners every time I ride him, he always comes back a better horse after each start. It's pretty special when you ride a horse like this for over a year now. I really think he's been great with how he's training right now.”

Keen Ice (Curlin) returns to the site of his massive upset of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) in the 2015 Travers and matched the 106 Beyer he earned in that race when taking down the colors of heavily favored Shaman Ghost (Ghostzapper) in the 10-furlong GII Suburban S. at Belmont July 8. He showed something of a new dimension four weeks back, sitting up relatively close to modest early fractions before finishing his race off strongly. Though he may get his preferred race shape Saturday, conditions are not ideal, according to three-time Whitney-winning trainer Todd Pletcher.

“The only think I'd like to change is make the Whitney a mile and a quarter,” Pletcher told NYRA's notes team. “I think he's best a mile and a quarter, but it's a mile and an eighth, so hopefully we can get an honest pace to run at and he can overcome it.”

Javier Castellano is the only one of Saturday's seven jockeys with a previous win in the Whitney (Honor Code {A.P. Indy}, 2015). He lands on War Story (Northern Afleet), who will need at least a repeat of his 2 1/2-length victory in the June 10 GII Brooklyn S., in which Tu Brutus (Chi) (Scat Daddy) was beaten into third at 55 cents on the dollar. The latter was scratched from Thursday's 14-furlong $100,0000 Birdstone S. in favor of Saturday's $1.2-million pot. Trainer Gary Contessa gives the 5-year-old an excuse for the subpar run in the Brooklyn.

“In his last start, where he didn't deliver at 2-5, he had a guttural infection in his nasal passage, so I mean that's definitely one of the ones you can put a line through,” Contessa told the notes team. “I'm excited that I have a chance, I'm not going in with a longshot who has no chance, I'm going in with a very good horse.”