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Gun Runner Colt With Virtual Fans Graduates Keeneland

Mill Ridge-raised horse was bright spot during farm's pandemic-forced virtual tours.

The Gun Runner colt consigned as Hip 756 in the ring at the Keeneland September Sale

The Gun Runner colt consigned as Hip 756 in the ring at the Keeneland September Sale

Keeneland Photo

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a colt with quite the personality became a bright spot for the hundreds of fans through virtual tours hosted by Mill Ridge Farm, where he was born and raised.

By Gun Runner  out of the Unbridled's Song mare Intensify—the dam of grade 2 winners Money Multiplier and Intense Holiday—the youngster with the built-in following is now headed to the next step of his life journey after going through the ring Sept. 16 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Bloodstock agent Alistair Roden signed the ticket for $475,000 on the colt consigned by Mill Ridge as Hip 756, who will join Peter Redekop's stable in California. When it comes time to register the colt's name with The Jockey Club, his new connections might have a head start on the process. His Mill Ridge moniker was "The Pistol," which was actually not a clever play on his sire's name but had everything to do with his personality.

"We'd be walking the fields with the foals and inevitably this guy would come in and get in your pocket, and I started calling him 'The Pistol,' and the people loved that," recalled Headley Bell of Mill Ridge. "I didn't even put it together with him being a Gun Runner. They all caught onto The Pistol, and then it just became one of those things. The fans all stick together on this kind of stuff, and they definitely took a liking to him."

Headley Bell with Mill Ridge<br>
Saratoga sales scenes at Fasig-Tipton in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on Aug. 7, 2021.
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Headley Bell at Keeneland

Roden called the colt bred in Kentucky by Richard Santulli's Colts Neck Stables "A lovely horse," adding, "He's the sort of horse that's maybe not going to be a real early 2-year-old; he's a horse that will really improve a lot, and he's by one of the hottest sires in the country, if not the world right now."

Bell echoed that assessment.

"He has matured with time, and he's been growing a lot," he said. "He's a bigger, kind of backwards horse that you won't want to rush, and to their credit, they won't rush him.

"Even before Gun Runner's success, he was going to be a popular horse. The reserve was half of that, so that (price) was great."

The colt was one of a trio for Roden, who also signed for two sons of the late Arrogate (Hip 390 for $70,000 and Hip 981 for $205,000).

"It's very hard to buy the real good horses; you really have to be strapped on for them," he said. "It's been a very, very strong market. People are hungry for horses. It's great for the business in general. It's been that way all year. It started that way in March at the OBS sales and continued all the way through the 2-year-old sales, into the yearling market. It's just kind of snowballed all the way through the year."

Alistair Roden Keeneland September yearling sales on Sept. 16, 2021.
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Alistair Roden at Keeneland

Roden said Hip 756 will be sent to either Southern Utah or California for breaking and training before he moves to the racetrack, likely with trainer Peter Miller, to begin preparations for his debut next year.

For Bell, the end of his association with "The Pistol" by no means brings an end to his connection to the many fans who found light and joy in watching the colt grow at Mill Ridge during a dark time. Visitors can now return to Mill Ridge in person by booking through Horse Country Tours, while the farm maintains an active social media presence for those who are unable to come to Kentucky.

"This whole thing with Horse Country, what it all means to us, was totally unexpected as far as the gratification that we get out of the satisfaction of the people," said Bell. "So many times, people say, 'Do you know how lucky you are? Thank you so much for sharing this with us.' It's just been really remarkable. We really had no idea, the underlying reward that would come from participating."