Ridden by Cristian Torres for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Track Phantom won the $98,000 Gun Runner Stakes Dec. 23 at Fair Grounds. With his 1 1/4-length victory, Track Phantom earned 10 points on the Road to the 2024 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve.

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Nash failed to follow up his scintillating victory last month at Churchill Downs with a strong performance in the Gun Runner and finished third as the 1-5 favorite. Nash made a menacing move at the top of stretch under jockey Florent Geroux but was unable to keep that momentum going. He finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Snead, who made a closing run for second in the 1 1/16-mile race, which was completed in 1:44.42.

Track Phantom ($11.80), who broke his maiden in his last start, played a prominent role in the early pace while racing alongside longshot Next Level through a half-mile run in a snappy :46.93.

"Very impressive that both of his two-turn races have been victories," said trainer Steve Asmussen, who also trained Gun Runner for whom the race is named.

"Good field today," Asmussen said. "I thought they went too fast in the middle — 46 and 4, here in a two-turn race. You don't see it hold on very often, but he's a very good horse and has some room to physically develop."

A son of Quality Road, Track Phantom was bred by Breeze Easy. He is owned by L and N Racing, Clark Brewster, Jerry Caroom, and Breeze Easy.