The Road: Into Mischief, Gun Runner Well Represented

Just as breeders already know, bettors have quickly caught on: backing Into Mischief and Gun Runner is a pretty good idea. In looking at the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager conducted in late November and comparing those results to both Byron King's initial Derby Dozen for BloodHorse, released Jan. 20, as well as the most recent Kentucky Derby Future Wager Jan. 16-18, handicappers were wise to make seven-time leading sire Into Mischief and record-breaking sire Gun Runner the top choices. Into Mischief, who already boasts three Kentucky Derby (G1) winners in Mandaloun, Authentic, and last year's winner Sovereignty, this year has two of the top three horses in the initial Derby Dozen in champion 2-year-old male Ted Noffey and Commandment, easy winner of the Mucho Macho Man Stakes Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park. There's a chance those two runners could soon meet on the track as trainer Todd Pletcher is pointing three-time grade 1 winner Ted Noffey to the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) while trainer Brad Cox is considering that Feb. 28 race at Gulfstream for Commandment. In the sires' future wager, Into Mischief finished as the 9-2 favorite. On the most recent Derby future pool, Ted Noffey finished at 6-1 and Commandment at 23-1. Other Into Mischief runners on that Jan. 16-18 pool include Cannoneer (24-1), an impressive maiden winner in November at Churchill Downs; as well as Remsen Stakes (G2) runner-up and Steelers' fan favorite Renegade (37-1). Gun Runner, who finished as the 5-1 second choice in the sires future, boasts three horses in the top five of the Derby Dozen in second-ranked Further Ado, fourth-ranked Paladin, and Brant at No. 5. Also trained by Cox, Further Ado won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) in late November at Churchill. He's listed at 26-1 in the most recent future wager. Paladin (14-1 future wager) won a maiden race in October at Aqueduct Racetrack and closed his juvenile season there for trainer Chad Brown with a victory in the Remsen. Trained by six-time Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert, Brant captured the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Brant finished as 23-1 on the most recent future wager. Further representing Gun Runner this year on the latest future wager pool are Mob (62-1), a maiden winner in November at Churchill for trainer Brian Lynch; Thunder Buck (92-1), a Cox-trained December maiden winner at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots who finished off the board in the Lecomte Stakes (G3), and Thunderously (22-1), a 5-length debut winner earlier this month at Gulfstream for last year's Derby-winning connections of trainer Bill Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado. On the track, Gun Runner finished third in the 2016 Derby. As a sire, he nearly saw his first Derby winner when Sierra Leone finished second in the 2024 edition of the classic. Getting started The lone Road to the Kentucky Derby points race this weekend is the UAE Two Thousand Guineas (G3) Jan. 23 at Meydan Racecourse. The race opens the 2026 schedule of the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby.