Gun Runner will train at Churchill before heading west
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Gun Runner was scheduled to arrive Saturday at Churchill Downs from Saratoga, with no set schedule before he leaves again in a few weeks for Southern California to prepare for the Breeders’ Cup.
Steve Asmussen, who trains Gun Runner for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, said he will monitor the colt’s progress for a few days before deciding on a first breeze at Churchill. Gun Runner won the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga by 10 1/4 lengths on Sept. 2.
“We’re planning on sending him out west toward the end of this month,” Asmussen said, adding the colt will be accompanied on the trip by longtime assistant trainer Scott Blasi.
Asmussen said Gun Runner will be stabled at Santa Anita for a few weeks and will have one workout at Del Mar, where he will face Arrogate in an epic rematch in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Gun Runner has been the top-rated horse in North America in the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll in recent weeks. Since finishing second to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup, the 4-year-old colt has easily won his last three races, all Grade 1 events.
