Gun Pilot Caps Grade I Double For Gun Runner in Churchill Downs

[Wandering Eyes]

Three Chimneys homebred GUN PILOT (c, 4, Gun Runner–Bush Pilot, by Smart Strike) punched through from between horses in the final furlong after sitting a midfield trip and skipped clear to give his sire a sweep of the afternoon's seven-furlong Grade I contests in the Churchill Downs S. Here Mi Song (Cross Traffic) dueled heads apart for the early lead with 'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) and battled back inside of that one to complete the exacta. Briefly on the Triple Crown trail in 2023 and fifth in the GII Pat Day Mile on this program, Gun Pilot had made three starts over six furlongs this term, winning allowance races at the Fair Grounds in January and in March at Oaklawn before finishing runner-up in the Apr. 7 Eclipse S. in Hot Springs. Gun Pilot makes 10 top-level scorers for Gun Runner, while the late Smart Strike was being represented by his second graded winner on the program as a broodmare sire (Seize the Grey). He is now the sire of 15 Grade I winners as a broodmare sire, including Kentucky Derby winners Mine That Bird (Birdstone) and Rich Strike (Keen Ice). Lifetime Record: 11-5-3-0. O/B-Three Chimneys Farm LLC (KY); T-Steve Asmussen.

 

#10 Gun Pilot hits another gear down the stretch and wins the @ChurchillDowns Stakes at odds of 5/1!

Jockey: Cristian Torres
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Owner: Three Chimneys Farm LLC

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/XgDxstCsQy

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) May 4, 2024

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