Three Chimney’s brilliant stallion and 2017 Horse of the Year was inducted into the National Racing Museum Hall of Fame on Aug. 2 at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Gun Runner received the prestigious honor on his first year of eligibility, five years after his retirement.
“Gun Runner’s ability is so obvious, and that’s what got him here,” said his trainer Steve Asmussen. “But what a perfect combination of two great racing families (owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys), for them to (take) the financial risk and sacrifice of running him as a 4-year-old, the confidence that they had in him to do what he went on to do.
“What a great honor it is to look out at (jockey) Florent (Geroux) and (assistant trainer) Scott (Blasi) … what this horse meant to us and did for us and the sacrifices that we would all gladly make for this sort of opportunity—it is what makes the Hall of Fame.”
Gun Runner was brilliant during his 2017 4-year-old campaign, winning the Whitney S., Woodward S., Stephen Foster H. and Breeders’ Cup Classic, all Grade 1 events. He finished his career with a victory in the 2018 Pegasus World Cup Inv. (G1) before entering stud that year at Three Chimneys.
“He was magnificent on the track, especially during his final year,” said Three Chimneys director RodrigoTorrealba. “We owe a great deal to Ben Leon, who bred Gun Runner under his banner of Besilu Stables. Mr. Leon, we applaud your achievement in breeding such a remarkable horse.”
Gun Runner has been an outstanding young sire as well. Already responsible for 10 Grade 1 winners and 13 millionaires lifetime, he leads the 2024 Fourth-Crop Sire list and is ranked third on this year’s General Sire list.
