Gun Runner’s World Record proved uncatchable in the $200,000 Amsterdam S. (G2) at Saratoga on July 26, winning the 6 ½-furlong sprint for sophomores in decisive front-running fashion.
Owned by WinStar Farm and Siena Farm and trained by Rodolphe Brisset, World Record dictated terms throughout. He broke sharply from his rail post and opened three lengths on his rivals in the early stages. After an opening quarter in a brisk :21.56 and a half in :44.64, World Record responded gamely when asked for his best. He charged through the lane under a confident hand ride to score by 6 ¾ lengths in 1:16.20.
Next up for World Record, now a winner in two of four lifetime starts, might be a start in Grade 1 company at Saratoga in the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) on Aug. 24. World Record broke his maiden by 6 ¼ lengths at seven furlongs at Churchill Downs in May.
“Seven (furlongs) shouldn’t be an issue. He won going seven; you can clear the field (and) and you don’t have to go that fast,” said Brisset. “The six-and-a-half can be tricky. You’ve got to be able to put up those fractions like you’re going six and hold up like you’re a seven-furlong horse. He did that today.”
Bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm, Falguieres Bloodstock, Gestut Zur Kuste AG, et al, World Record was a $410,000 weanling purchase at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. He is produced from the Exceed And Excel mare Marwa, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winners Miss Isella and Sir Cherokee, and to multiple stakes winner Guam Typhoon.
Gun Runner is currently the No. 3-ranked General Sire with progeny earnings this season of more than $11.8 million. His chief earner on the year is Blue Grass S. (G1) winner Sierra Leone, who has banked more than $2.1 million.
