Gun Runner battled to a game three-quarter length maiden special weight victory Friday at Churchill Downs to give the colt owned by Three Chimneys Farm and Winchell Thoroughbred a win in his career debut.
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Gun Runner sat three-wide a couple lengths off a fairly slow pace for the long backstretch run on Churchill’s one-turn mile course. Gun Runner advanced on the turn while still well off the rail, moving up for a three-way duel that would last most of the stretch. Inside the final sixteenth, Gun Runner was too much for Gametown, edging clear in the final strides to get the distance in 1:37.83 (VIDEO).
Gun Runner, by Candy Ride, was bred in Kentucky by Besilu Stables and is the first foal out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Quiet Giant, who accounted for the Molly Pitcher S. (G2) among her five stakes wins. She is a sister to $4.4 million earner and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Saint Liam.
