Gun Runner

Gun Runner opened his career with back-to-back wins going a mile at Churchill Downs and 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland Race Course for trainer Steve Asmussen. He closed his 2-year-old season with a gutsy fourth-place finish on a sloppy track in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November 2015.

Gun Runner made his 3-year-old debut a memorable one as he took control in the stretch of the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes and held off fast-finishing Forevamo and Mo Tom to earn his first stakes win and 50 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby. The 50 points virtually guaranteed Gun Runner a spot in the starting gate for the 2016 Kentucky Derby but to really solidify his spot on the Derby trail, Gun Runner easily won the Grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. Gun Runner went off as one of the favorites in the Kentucky Derby and finished third behind Nyquist and Exaggerator.

Since the Kentucky Derby, Gun Runner has continued to establish himself as one of the more consistent horses in his 3-year-old division. He romped to a win in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs in June, finished fifth after a rough trip in the Grade 1 betfar.com Haskell Invitational Stakes at Monmouth Park, and followed that up with a third-place effort behind runaway winner Arrogate in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes in August at Saratoga. Gun Runner rallied strongly through the stretch to finished second by a half-length to Connect in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing and was also runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

On Nov. 25, 2016, Gun Runner broke through to capture his first Grade 1 win with a front-running score in the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs. He returned in Feb. 2017 with a facile 5 ¾-length win in the Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park on President's Day, setting himself up to be a main contender in the older dirt male division for the rest of the year.

Gun Runner traveled to Dubai for the Dubai World Cup on March 25, 2017, where he finished a valiant second to Arrogate. His return to the U.S. was a display in brilliance, as he took the early lead in the June 17 Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap under the lights at Churchill Downs and romped to a seven-length win. He followed with another dominant victory when he romped in the $1.2 million, Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 5. He closed the summer with a runaway 10 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes on Sept. 2 at Saratoga.

Those performances set Gun Runner up for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Del Mar, where he would face off with Arrogate once more. Sent off as the 2.40-1 second choice behind Arrogate, Gun Runner dueled with Pacific Classic winner Collected through swift fractions before drawing away impressively in midstretch to a 2 ¼-length victory, with a nonthreatening Arrogate finishing in a dead heat for fifth. 

Gun Runner was honored after the season with Eclipse Awards as 2017 Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male. Two days later, he closed his brilliant career with a dominant victory in the $16 million Pegasus World World Cup for his 12th win in 19 starts and more than $16 million in career earnings.

Gun Runner is out of the Grade 2-winning Giant's Causeway mare Quiet Giant, a half-sister (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam.