Perryville distance suits Gunite

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Seven furlongs hit Gunite right between the eyes. In five starts at his preferred distance, the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred has racked up three wins and two seconds, including a Grade 1 victory and a couple of triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures.

Meanwhile, Artorius has never even raced at seven furlongs – and yet he’ll be considered the top threat to Gunite when they meet for the first time among a field of eight 3-year-old colts Saturday in the $250,000 Perryville Stakes at Keeneland.

Gunite, with Tyler Gaffalione riding from post 8, surely will be a solid favorite to add to an outstanding record of four stakes wins, including the Grade 1 Hopeful last year, from 11 overall starts. The son of Gun Runner has earned Beyers of 101, 102, and 101 in his last three starts, all the while carving out a lucrative niche among the elite in his class.

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“He’s very handy and tenacious,” said his trainer, Steve Asmussen. “You’d hope that the outside post will set him up for the right kind of trip.”

Asmussen said running Gunite in the Perryville doesn’t necessarily mean the colt won’t run two weeks later in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint or BC Dirt Mile.

“Let’s see how things go Saturday,” he said.

Artorius (post 3, Florent Geroux) approaches this race from a completely different angle. Winner of a one-mile maiden-special in his second career start in June at Belmont Park, the Juddmonte Farms homebred proceeded to post an easy score with a 95 Beyer in the restricted Curlin Stakes prior to finishing sixth with a 98 Beyer behind Epicenter in the Travers. Both of those Saratoga races were around two turns.

Given eight weeks to refresh and regroup, Artorius is now being asked by trainer Chad Brown to shorten up in distance. It’s a very interesting proposition, and toward that end, the latest breeze for Artorius came last Saturday morning in the company of his Grade 1-winning stablemate Jack Christopher, with both going a bullet five furlongs in a minute.

The early fractions of the Perryville figure to be set by Provocateur (post 2, Luis Saez), a Todd Pletcher trainee stretching out from a couple of six-furlong stakes, including a victory in the Aug. 6 Jersey Shore at Monmouth Park. Gunite ought to be able to assume a prime stalking spot, while Hoist the Gold, B Dawk, and Of a Revolution shouldn’t be too much farther back as things unfold. In the meantime, Artorius figures to be gathering late momentum from farther back.

The wild card of the group is Pinehurst (post 4, John Velazquez), who will be making his first start for Brendan Walsh. When still trained by Bob Baffert, the Twirling Candy colt won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity at 2 and the Group 3 Saudi Derby earlier this year, but his last two races have been abysmal. Pinehurst has posted five works since Walsh assumed his care.

This is the 14th running of the Perryville (race 6), named for the site of a fierce Civil War battle fought in October 1862 in Boyle County, some 50 miles south of Lexington. The race has had a stop-and-start history since first being run in 1999.

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