Steve Asmussen, of course, trained Hall of Famer Gun Runner, and he has trained two winners among the three renewals of the Gun Runner Stakes, a first step toward the Louisiana Derby in March. Asmussen would like to think he has a third Gun Runner winner in the barn, but Magnitude, through the first four starts of his career, has yet to establish a reliable baseline.

“He trains like a nice horse, but he’s been inconsistent to this point. I’ve liked him every time we’ve led him over. Twice I liked the results, twice I didn’t, and that’s the hesitation,” Asmussen said.

From a wagering perspective, they might have saved the best for last Saturday at Gulfstream Park when the Grade 3, $165,000 Suwannee River brings to a close an 11-race card featuring five stakes races.

The Suwannee River, scheduled for one mile on turf, drew an ultra-competitive field of 12, including nine stakes winners. It also is a race that lacks an obvious favorite.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Tumbarumba, whose very good 2024 campaign is only a head bob or two away from being a great one, will close the year looking to punch his ticket into the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational when going postward as perhaps a tepid favorite Saturday in a competitive running of the $165,000 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes.

Major Dude, a three-time graded stakes winner, ran the two fastest races of his career in allowance company earlier this year. Saturday, he’ll try to transfer that form back into stakes when he heads a competitive field of nine entered in the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale at Gulfstream Park.

The Fort Lauderdale, run at 1 1/8 miles over the turf, is the local prep for next month’s Grade 1, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf at the same distance.

Golden Gamble turned heads winning the second start of her career in a romp, blasting to a nine-length maiden score Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs, a performance in keeping with the filly’s morning training.

“We fully expected that, and as a matter of fact, a lot of people expected that in her first race,” said Kenny McPeek, who trains Golden Gamble for Fern Circle Stables and Cypress Creek Equine.

Glee capped a memorable Remington Park season with a 10 3/4-length win in the $75,000 Toby Keith Stakes on closing night Dec. 13 and is now bound for Oaklawn Park, according to trainer Steve Asmussen.

Glee made two starts at the Remington meet, both in stakes. She won the E.L. Gaylord at 6 1/2 furlongs by more than 15 lengths on the Oklahoma Derby undercard Sept. 29.