The Gun Runner-sired duo of Red Route One and Unload finished 1-2 in Saturday night’s $300,000 Cornhusker H. (G3) at Prairie Meadows.
Both 4-year-olds are owned and bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds and trained by Steve Asmussen, the same connections who campaigned Gun Runner.
Red Route One, who has campaigned in graded stakes regularly for the past two years, has now earned $1,807,475 and won or placed in 11 stakes races, including three graded victories.
In Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile race, it was Unload, who was making his stakes debut, who took the early lead, setting sensible fractions of :48.70 for the half-mile and 1:12.77 for six furlongs. Unload was still strong on the lead turning for home, with Red Route One closing from well off the pace while four-wide on the turn. Unload dug in gamely in the late stages only to be passed by Red Route One in the final strides, with a half-length separating the top two.
The Cornhusker topped a terrific day for Gun Runner that also included his 3-year-old filly Chatalas winning the Indiana Oaks (G3).
