Gun Runner , the leading first-crop sire of 2021 and currently the top second-crop sire of 2022, tops a group of six horses that comprise the 2023 stallion roster at Three Chimneys Farm. Three Chimneys announced Gun Runner's stud fee as private, but following the success of his initial two crops—achievements some observers have called unprecedented for a young stallion—he is likely to command one of the highest fees in Central Kentucky.
He stood for an advertised fee of $125,000 this year after standing for $50,000 in 2021.
A 9-year-old son of Candy Ride and the 2017 Horse of the Year, Gun Runner is the current leading sire of black-type horses by percentage. In 2022 alone, he is the sire of 11 stakes winners, 25 stakes horses, 10 grade 1 stakes horses, and eight graded stakes winners, of which six are first-crop grade 1 winners.
Among his high-level performers this year are Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Early Voting ; Taiba , winner of the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) and the Pennsylvania Derby (G1); Cyberknife , winner of the Arkansas Derby (G1) and the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1); and Society, front-running victress in the Cotillion Stakes (G1).
Other progeny of Gun Runner include Gunite , winner of the 2021 Hopeful Stakes (G1), and Echo Zulu, a three-time grade 1 winner and champion last season. Both went on to notch stakes victories in fast time this year.
Taiba, Cyberknife, and Echo Zulu hit the board in Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland last weekend.
With his progeny also performing well, fellow Three Chimneys stallion Sharp Azteca rises in price from $5,000 to an advertised fee in 2023 of $15,000, stands and nurses. The leading freshman sire by winners with 30, he has also sired three stakes winners and six stakes performers, including the Iowa-bred speedster and Breeders' Cup competitor Tyler's Tribe.
Three Chimneys Stud Fees
| Stallion | 2023 Fee | 2022 Fee |
| Funtastic | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Gun Runner | Private | $125,000 |
| Palace Malice | $7,500 | $12,500 |
| Sharp Azteca | $15,000 | $5,000 |
| Sky Mesa | $10,000 | $12,500 |
| Volatile | $12,500 | $15,000 |
