Gun Song became Gun Runner’s newest graded stakes winner in Friday’s $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2), winning the 100th running of the race for 3-year-old fillies by 3 ¼-lengths.
Gun Song was the second stakes winner for Gun Runner on the card Friday at Pimlico, following Shotgun Hottie’s victory in Allaire duPont Distaff S. a couple of hours earlier.
Making her first start at 1 1/8-miles, Gun Song pressed longshot Jeanne Marie through six furlongs in 1:13.66, then willing took the lead coming into the stretch. Set down for the drive, she responded with zeal, pulling away with every stride to get the distance in 1:51.39 on a fast track.
“She’s a horse that kind of waits, and I wanted to make sure to keep her mind running, and she actually opened up,” winning rider John Velazquez said. “I didn’t know she was going to open up that much, but she did it nicely. I thought it was going to be a much faster pace, but it didn’t show up.”
Friday’s win upped Gun Song’s earnings to $311,340 from a record of 3-1-1 in six starts for owner R. L. Lewis. The chestnut filly was bred by Marianne Stribling in Kentucky.
Pedigree Notes from the TDN:
With the Black-Eyed Susan victory, Gun Song became the 30th black-type and 22nd graded stakes winner, for her sire Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Gun Song, a $400,000 OBS March purchase by Lewis, is out of graded winner and Grade I-placed Nicole H.
