LAST Saturday we had further confirmation that Gun Runner can legitimately claim to be the most exciting young stallion in the world.

In the space of less than one hour, at Parx Racing, he sired a pair of Grade 1 winners, his daughter Society running out a near six-length winner of the Cotillion Stakes before Taiba, a three-year-old colt, was no less impressive when landing the Pennsylvania Derby by three lengths. The latter has already been victorious at the highest level, in the Santa Anita Derby, but Society is now the sixth Grade 1 winner in Gun Runner’s first crop.

Last year the Three Chimney’s stallion was the leading first crop sire, when his winners were headed by the champion Echo Zulu, unbeaten in her four juvenile starts, three of them at Grade 1 level, and she crowned her juvenile year with victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes.

Meanwhile, Gun Runner’s son Gunite was a runaway winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes.

Also on Saturday, Echo Zulu and Gunite were in the winners’ enclosure again, the former in the Grade 3 Dogwood Stakes at Churchill Downs, while Gunite landed the Harrods Creek Stakes on the same card. Both these runners have won this year at Grade 2 level.

As if that was not enough, on the same programme at Churchill Downs, the three-year-old filly Sixtythreecaliber was yet another stakes winner on the one day for Gun Runner as she gained her first blacktype success in the Seneca Overnight Stakes. It was all part of an unbelievable day of triumphs for the nine-year-old stallion. Intriguingly, having been advertised at a fee of $125,000 this year, Gun Runner no longer has a fee next to his name. In 2023 he will surely be, at least, doubled in price.

Reasonable fee

It is worth remembering that, having stood his first three seasons at a reasonable fee of $70,000, this was dropped to $50,000 in advance of his first crop racing. The only way is up, and it is frightening to think that, should his progeny follow a similar career trajectory to that of Gun Runner himself, the best is yet to come. Breeders who wished to use Gun Runner to cover this autumn to southern hemisphere time were able to do so for a bargain $75,000.

Going to stud, Gun Runner, a son of Candy Ride (Ride The Rails), had huge appeal. A winner twice in three starts at two, he subsequently developed into a very smart three-year-old, and was even better at four.

As a sophomore he won the nine-furlong Grade 1 Clark Handicap, chased home Connect in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby (won at the weekend by Taiba), and was third in both the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and Travers Stakes, to Nyquist and Arrogate respectively.

In seven outings at four and five, Gun Runner was only beaten once, when runner-up to Arrogate in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, and his five Grade 1 wins included the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Pegasus World Cup. When he retired to stud he was rated Horse of the Year and amassed winnings of a shade under $16 million.

Best runner

By the sire of Twirling Candy, Gun Runner is the best offspring from the Grade 2 winner Quiet Giant (Giant’s Causeway), and she is one of four graded stakes winner from the exceptional producer, Quiet Dance, a daughter of Quiet American (Fappiano). Two of that quartet were successful at Grade 1 level, and the best of these was another Horse of the Year in the USA, Saint Liam (Saint Ballado).

With a champion, eight graded stakes winners (six at Grade 1) and another five blacktype winners all in his first crop, Gun Runner could not have made a more explosive start at stud, and almost one in five of his winners have done so at stakes level. It is clear that we are witnessing something extraordinary at present.

Not only that, but if you have a mare by a son, grandson or descendant of A.P.Indy (Seattle Slew), then you have to simply consider using Gun Runner. Look at how he works with the cross.

His Grade 1 winner Taiba (dam by Flatter), stakes winner Shotgun Annie and Grade 1-placed Runninsonofagun (dams by Malibu Moon) and stakes winner Optionality (dam by Pulpit) are all out of mares who have A.P.Indy as their grandsire.

Meanwhile, Grade 1 winner Society, Grade 2 winner Wicked Halo and stakes winner Red Run are all out of mares by Tapit, himself a grandson of A.P.Indy. It is that simple!

Bruce Ryan

What about the weekend’s Grade 1 winners themselves? Taiba was bred in Kentucky by Bruce Ryan, and he is the second foal of a mare who won 17 races in 39 starts for Ryan. Needmore Flattery (Flatter) won nine stakes races for Ohio-breds, but Ryan sold her in the same year that Taiba was foaled for just $195,000, carrying a now two-year-old filly, Tita Mimosa (Uncle Mo).

Ryan must have looked on with some added envy as Taiba, whom he sold as a yearling for $140,000, went on to realise no less than $1.7 million as a breezer. Though he did not make it to the races at two, Taiba has now won three of his five starts this year, and finished second to another son of Gun Runner, Cyberknife, in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes after being down the field in the Kentucky Derby.

Taiba’s trainer Bob Baffert is in no doubt that he has a potential champion sophomore in his care, and Taiba’s ultimate target is likely to be the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Lot 51 in this month’s Arqana October Yearling Sale is a son of Waldgeist (Galileo) and he is the fourth produce of Needmore Flattery. Taiba’s successes are not damaging the sale prospects of his younger sibling for sure.

Upgrade

Society is a filly very much on the upgrade. Owned and trained by Peter Blum, she has been taken along slowly, winning her only start at two last October, and adding four wins from five starts in 2022. She joined Steve Asmussen this year, the man who trained Gun Runner, and the only blot on Society’s copybook was when she stumbled at the start of the Grade 1 CCA Oaks and finished fourth of the five runners.

Victory in the Cotillion Stakes a week ago took Society’s earnings past $1.1 million, and she was previously successful in the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks and in the Monomoy Girl Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs.

At the recently concluded Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Society’s half-sister Finesse (Street Sense) sold to Windancer Farm for $735,000. They are both daughters of Etiquette (Tapit), a winner at four and dam of a pair of winners. Etiquette also has a two-year-old son Punctuality (Union Rags) in training and, having foaled a colt by Omaha Beach (War Front) this year, she is now safely back in foal to Gun Runner.