When the hammer fell for Gun Runner’s hip No. 654 during Thursday’s session of the OBS March 2-year-olds in Training sale, the $3 million figure on the board was an all-time record for the annual juvenile sale.
The colt, who was consigned by Eddie Woods, had breezed a bullet :09 3/5 seconds during last week’s Under Tack show. The winning bidder was Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of owner Amr Zedan and his trainer Bob Baffert.
The gray Kentucky-bred is the first foal out of Tynan, who is a half-sister to Gun Runner’s Grade 2 winner Pappacap, as well as Grade 3 winner Boppy O.
“These horses are difficult to come by,” said Zedan afterwards. “He ticked all the boxes. He was a very precocious Gun Runner with a great pedigree. And more importantly, if you have someone like Mr. Baffert in your corner, that gives you the courage and the guts to just go after quality. And you’ll know they are in the best hands to turn them into champions. This one is for the team: Donato and obviously Bob and his ability to turn them into champions. So if you have the great team, the great training, the rest is easy. Was he pricey? Yes. But quality dictates price. So I never hesitated.”
“We are very happy and lucky to get him,” Lanni added. “This is what the boss [Baffert] wanted and what Amr wanted. Gun Runner is a tremendous stallion and he worked really good and galloped out good. He did everything you want one to do.”
The colt was bred by PTK and originally sold for $200,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
