Horse of the Year Gun Runner got his first winner on May 9 when Red Run won a five furlong maiden special weight 2-year-old race by 1-3/4-lengths at Churchill Downs.
Owned and bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds, who also campaigned Gun Runner, Red Run was making his debut on Sunday. After stalking the pace early on, the chestnut colt made a bold move at the top of the stretch and overtook Trebbiano inside the furlong marker to win going away in :59.22 over the sloppy going.
The winner is the first foal out of the unraced Tapit mare Red House, who is a full sister to Winchell’s champion 3-year-old filly Untapable, who earned nearly $4 million in her brilliant career. Red House also has a yearling colt by Gun Runner.
First-Crop sire Gun Runner is currently the leading freshman sire of 2-year-olds by sales average of $372,000. An earner of more than $16 million, Gun Runner has bred more than 150 mares each of his first three seasons at stud.
