Tejano Twist will bring newfound maturity to Gun Runner Stakes

Tejano Twist, winner of the $200,000 Lively Shively on Nov. 27 at Churchill, will get a two-turn test in the $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes on Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds.

Tejano Twist, a 2-year-old Practical Joke gelding, had only a five-furlong Colonial Downs maiden win from his first six starts before romping to a Keeneland allowance-race victory in October and scoring a half-length win in the 6 1/2-furlong Lively Shively, a new race on the Churchill stakes schedule.

“He’s had a lot of races but only just figured it out the last couple,” trainer Bret Calhoun said. “We’ll give him a chance to go two turns. He’s learned to relax, settle, and race now.”

:: Join DRF Bets and play the races with a $250 First Deposit Bonus. Click to learn more.

Calhoun remains puzzled by the flat fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies from his leading 2-year-old filly Hidden Connection, a 7-2 shot in the race following eye-catching wins in a Colonial maiden race and the Rags to Riches Stakes at Churchill.

“We went over her closely following the race and didn’t find anything,” he said. “I really don’t know what happened. It was extremely disappointing.”

Hidden Connection has been freshened in Florida and is set to join Calhoun’s string at Fair Grounds on Monday. The Rachel Alexandra Stakes on Feb. 19 is in play for her 3-year-old debut.

Calhoun got a good comeback-race win out of the 3-year-old grass horse Excess Magic in a Nov. 26 second-level turf-sprint allowance race, and said he plans to run the colt back in the $75,000 Woodchopper Stakes over one mile on grass on Dec. 27. And back on the Fair Grounds work tab is Run Classic, one of the more promising young horses from the 2020-21 meet, who hasn’t started since an eighth-place finish March 20 in the Louisiana Derby.

“He’s still a ways away,” Calhoun said. “We’ll find a one-other-than at Fair Grounds or Oaklawn for him.”