Further Ado romped home a gaudy 20-length maiden special weight victory Oct. 10 at Keeneland and was unsurprisingly named a TDN Rising Star, Gun Runner’s 21st horse to earn the coveted distinction.
Further Ado joins an illustrious list of Gun Runner’s Rising Stars that include Echo Zulu, Taiba, Locked, and Sierra Leone.
The 2-year-old colt was making his two-turn debut following a pair of sprint outings at Saratoga this summer. Hustled out of the gate, he settled in second just off of the leader Brave Force, who carved out a half-mile of :47.10. Entering the far turn, Further Ado began to creep closer and went past Brave Force without urging. Hand-ridden the rest of the way as well, the chestnut colt streaked through the stretch to win in devastating fashion.
His final time of 1:43.52 for the 1 1/16-miles on a fast track earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 98, the highest two-turn number for any 2-year-old in 2025.
Spendthrift acquired Further Ado for $550,000 out of the 2025 OBS Spring 2-year-old sale. Bred in Kentucky by John Oxley, Further Ado is out of Sky Dreamer, also the dam of multiple Group stakes winner Kimbear
Trainer Brad Cox indicated the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29 or an allowance race would be next on the agenda for his newest stable star.
