Stephen Foster a possibility for Gun Runner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As the Triple Crown hoopla unfolds over the coming weeks, Gun Runner will be going through his paces quietly at Churchill Downs, waiting for his time to shine again.

Most recently a game second to the mighty Arrogate in the March 25 Dubai World Cup, Gun Runner has returned to a daily regimen of light exercise as his connections consider what comes next.

“He just started back jogging,” said Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen. “He’s looking good and feeling good.”

Owned in partnership by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, Gun Runner could return to action in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap on June 17, although any definite plans “would be a little premature,” Winchell racing manager David Fiske said Tuesday.

“Some horses, that trip kind of knocks them out,” said Fiske, referring to the long journey to and from Dubai. “But so far, he hasn’t shown any evidence of that. He’s a tough son of a gun.”

In 2008, Asmussen used the Foster as the first race back after Curlin returned to Churchill from winning the Dubai World Cup.

“In a perfect world, Gun Runner might be ready in time for the Foster,” said Fiske. “Everything would have to go without a hiccup, and he’d have to be telling us he wants to run. If not, then we’d probably look at Saratoga, something like the Whitney.”

In the latest NTRA poll for the best horses in North America, Gun Runner was ranked second behind only Arrogate. The 4-year-old Gun Runner has won seven times, including five graded stakes, from 14 overall starts, for earnings of more than $4.3 million. He was third behind Nyquist and Exaggerator in the Kentucky Derby last year, then was withheld from the next two races in the Triple Crown. Foremost among his subsequent races was a 2 3/4-length victory last fall in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill.