BALTIMORE -- Gun Song answered the distance question emphatically in the affirmative Friday afternoon at Pimlico Racecourse, drawing away from her seven rivals in the final three-sixteenths of a mile to win the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for 3-year-old fillies by 3 1/4 lengths. Corposo, who was bumped by Call Another Play turning for home, finished second by a neck over Call Another Play. The victory was the 106th graded stakes win for trainer Mark Hennig, his first since My Miss Lilly won the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct in 2018. “It’s been a while,” said Hennig, who won Friday’s 100th Black-Eyed Susan for longtime client Lee Lewis. It was 30 years ago that Hennig and Lewis finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby with Personal Hope, who was in front turning for home. It was Lewis who ponied up $400,000 at the 2023 OBS April 2-year-old-in-training sale to buy this daughter of Gun Runner out of the nine-time sprint stakes winning mare Nicole H. Hennig thought he had himself a distance filly in Gun Song, especially after she drew off to a 5 1/2-length allowance win at Gulfstream in February. Gun Song did not see out the 1 1/8 miles of the Gulfstream Park Oaks in March. But she didn’t have a comfortable trip in that race and she had also missed some training time leading up to it due to a splint bone issue. Still, Hennig wasn’t boasting about Gun Song’s ability to get the distance entering the Black-Eyed Susan because he wanted to see it first. “I never felt like she couldn’t go long,” he said. “Until she answered the question we needed to prove it.” Under John Velazquez, Gun Song fell into a beautiful trip, sitting just off the flank of Jeanne Marie through fractions of 24.20 seconds for the quarter, 49.47 for the half, and 1:13.66 for six furlongs. Jeanne Marie was able to secure the lead after Recharge, who figured to be a forward factor, stumbled badly at the break. Since the pace was so slow, Velazquez said he was worried if he had taken too much of a hold of Gun Song to have her in a stalking position. “She got halfway relaxed on the backstretch. We were going so slow I was thinking hopefully when I let her go I didn’t choke her down,” said Velazquez, who was winning his record fifth Black-Eyed Susan. “I put my hands down at the three-eighths pole, I knew she was relaxed and when I asked her at the quarter pole she responded.” Gun Song put away Jeanne Marie inside the three-sixteenths and was never threatened from there. Gun Song covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.39 and returned $6.60 to win as the favorite. Gun Song is the first post-time favorite to win the Black-Eyed Susan since Royal Delta in 2011. Hennig said he was concerned about the track because in the Pimlico Special the pacesetter went six furlongs in 1:15.57 and faded to third. “Sometimes when they’re anticipating rain, they start letting the track get away from them and it gets dry and cuppy and the tracks get slower,” he said. “Here, I’m worrying whether she can get a mile and an eighth. I’m thinking is this going to be a grueling mile and an eighth over deep going? I was pleased at the end, I could see when she kicked off the turn we were in good shape.” Gun Song opened up in the last eighth of a mile as Corposo switched to her left lead and was lugging in a bit, but was still able to outfinish Call Another Play, who had come out at the quarter pole and brushed Corposo. Peter Eurton, the trainer of Corposo, said his filly still appears to be a little immature. “I thought she was done inside the quarter pole,” Eurton said. “She got a little more focused. She tends to look around and check things out. We are thinking she can build off this one.” Call Another Play had a three-race winning streak snapped in the Black-Eyed Susan, but she was facing her sternest test yet in the Black-Eyed Susan. “Pretty damn good for taking a shot,” said trainer Michael Trombetta, who noted that Call Another Play is a half-sister to Future Is Now, who two races earlier Friday won the $100,000 The Very One for female turf sprinters. Following Call Another Play in the order of finish were Lemon Muffin, Ringy Dingy, Jeanne Marie, and Recharge. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.