Gun Song gets elusive win in the Beldame
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A spring and summer of disappointment turned into a fall of accomplishment for Gun Song, who recorded her first win of the year, taking Friday’s Grade 2, $232,500 Beldame Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct.
Sitting a close-up third behind Randomized and Margie’s Intention, Gun Song, under John Velazquez, moved into second approaching the quarter pole, took over from 2-5 favorite Randomized above the eighth pole, and edged away in the final furlong to get the win. Randomized, a multiple Grade 1 winner who captured the 2023 Beldame, held second by a neck over Margie’s Intention. It was 35 lengths back to Just Music. Majestic Oops scratched to run in Sunday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Delaware Handicap.
Gun Song, a daughter of Gun Runner owned by Lee Lewis and trained by Mark Hennig, won for the fifth time in 16 career starts. However, it was her first victory since she captured the Cathryn Sophia in August 2024. Gun Song had a trio of second-place finishes from six starts since, most notably a neck defeat to Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx last September.
That performance, coupled with a narrow defeat in the Grade 2 Mother Goose last November, got her connections thinking this year could be a big one for Gun Song. But a combination of foot ate issues led to four losses this year. Following a 16-length defeat to Leslie’s Rose in the Grade 2 Shuvee at Saratoga in July, Hennig decided to freshen Gun Song up and give her one more chance to prove herself in a graded stakes in September.
Hennig entered Gun Song in both this race and Sunday’s Delaware Handicap. With a good track and not having to ship, Hennig opted for the 1 1/8-mile Beldame.
Hennig credited farrier Ian McKinlay with helping Gun Song overcome her foot issues. In the Beldame, she had no gate issues, breaking on top and sitting in a perfect spot, waiting for her cue from Velazquez.
“It helped me a little bit that the other horse went with [Randomized],” Velazquez said. “I kept her right behind their heels anyway, so I was pretty comfortable where I was. When I did get out, she responded very nicely.”
Hennig said the Beldame was a test to see if the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 1 should be considered before Gun Song goes through the sales ring at the Fasig-Tipton “Night of Stars” sale on Nov. 3. He said he wants to watch the other prep races and get a line on the competition before making a final decision. The Beldame victory is part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen series, and Gun Song earned $30,000 toward the $60,000 it would cost to run in the race.
“They got some more preps to go. These races have a chance to start falling apart, especially with these older horses, as they get closer,” Hennig said. “We’ll see how she comes out of it, see how these other races go, and evaluate whether that’s the right move.”
In the Beldame, Gun Song covered the distance in 1:49.48 and returned $11.54 as the third choice in the four-horse field.
Randomized, a 5-year-old mare who ran second in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, could not see out Friday’s race despite getting to the front and setting modest fractions under Flavien Prat.
“She jumped well. She got herself into the lead," Prat said. "She just couldn’t hold on all the way there."
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