Pimlico: Gunning For prevails

After failing to fire in his first two starts of the season, Gunning For displayed the form that made him a graded stakes winner last year when he made a huge move coming into the stretch and held off a late bid by Package Store to win the $50,000 Henry S. Clark Stakes at Pimlico.

Ridden by Jose Ferrer for trainer Tim Walsh, Gunning For sat far back off a hot early pace, set by Implicit and Pass Play, of 45.44 seconds and 1:09.54 for the first six furlongs in the one-mile turf race. Gunning For ($18) looped the field on the turn, opened a two-length lead, and hung on for a half-length victory. He ran the mile in 1:34.25.

It was the 4-year-old Gunning For's first win since he took the Grade 3 Lawrence Realization at Belmont in his final start of 2004. He was fourth and seventh in his previous two starts this year, both at Tampa Bay Downs.