Gun Runner was a first-ballot inductee into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2024 for his accomplishments on the track. If there was a Hall of Fame for breeding and sales exploits, the son of Candy Ride would be on a fast track to induction there, too.
A day after he topped the first session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale with a $3.3 million colt, Gun Runner had another six yearlings reach seven figures, including the $2.2 million co-session topper Sept. 9 in Lexington.
That brought his Book 1 total to 10 yearlings that sold for $1 million or more. There are still plenty of sale days to go, but for now, Gun Runner is on pace to do something the industry hasn't seen in almost 20 years—average $1 million per yearling in a season (minimum two sold, excludes short yearlings).
The last stallions to reach that lofty level were Storm Cat, Danzig, and Kingmambo, who all did it in the booming bloodstock market of 2006. At the conclusion of Book 1, 24 Gun Runner yearlings had sold for an average price of $1,035,834.
Trainer Wesley Ward went to $2.2 million Tuesday for Hip 243, the Gun Runner full brother to 2022 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner and first-crop yearling sire Early Voting .
Gun Runner, whose 2025 stud fee was $250,000, resides at Three Chimney Farms near Midway, Ky. And it was Three Chimneys that went to $1.6 million via an internet bid for Hip 311, a Gun Runner colt out of the stakes-placed Broken Vow mare Dragic, a half to champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu, also by Gun Runner, and grade 1 winner and sire Echo Town .
Dragic is the dam of Soaring Softly Stakes winner Saturday Flirt, a current 3-year-old filly who has won four of five lifetime starts, with her only loss coming in the 2024 Norfolk Stakes (G2) at Ascot Racecourse. Saturday Flirt is trained by Ward, who after making the big purchase earlier in Tuesday's session celebrated the sale of Hip 311 as its co-breeder with GRS.
"Gun Runner is an unbelievable sire," Ward said. "Everyone wants one, and there's a reason for that. They're running every distance in every category—from 2 to 3 to older horses, short and long, and on grass and dirt. He does it all."
Hip 311 was consigned by Four Star Sales, agent. Four Star's Kerry Cauthen said he wasn't surprised the colt reached seven figures because the list of interested buyers included a number of stallion farms.
"I saw this colt probably back in July for the first time. He was a bit rough and ready—raised outside and raised honest at Wesley's farm—but I think he really prepped up nice, and he showed himself in his walk and his overall class here at the sale," Cauthen said. "He is a tough horse with a fantastic pedigree, and I think people saw a lot of durability in him.
"This sale has been great. If you look at it pound for pound, it's been an incredible sale so far. Hip 311 probably exceeded my expectations by a third or better, and we've been seeing that throughout Book 1.
"Everybody wants to point to depreciation, which is very important, but I think there's a whole lot of things going on. The bottom line is, we have people coming in looking at our sport again in a way that hasn't happened in a long time. People with disposable income are looking at us as a viable place to invest."
A second Gun Runner colt sold for $1.6 million earlier Tuesday when Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing won the bidding for Hip 296, a Gun Runner colt out of the grade 1-winning Bernardini mare Dame Dorothy. The half sister to the grade 3-winning Curlin mare Spice Is Nice was bred in Kentucky by Repole Stable and consigned by Lane's End, agent.
Repole was another involved in the buying and selling end of Gun Runner stock Tuesday, having gone to $1.5 million for Hip 278, a Gun Runner colt out of multiple grade 1 winner Cavorting, again a Bernardini mare, from Indian Creek, agent for breeder Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings. Hip 278 is a half brother to three black-type horses, including the multiple grade 1-winning Curlin mare Clairiere.
Bradley Thoroughbreds, as agent, also got in on the Gun Runner lovefest with a pair of seven-figure colts, both consigned by Gainesway, agent. Bradley went to $1.3 million for Hip 217, the second foal out of the grade 1-winning Liam's Map mare Wicked Whisper. Whisper Hill Farm bred the chestnut colt in Kentucky.
Fifteen hips later, Bradley went to $1.2 million for Hip 232, the fifth foal out of the unraced Discreet Cat mare Acrobatique. The colt is a half to stakes-placed Amusing Antics, by Super Saver, and was bred in Kentucky by Helen C. Alexander and H A B Stroud.
