The team at Spendthrift Farm continues debating the next steps for its grade 1 winner Further Ado , who captured the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and, in doing so, has thrown into question whether he'll move on to a stud career next year or continue racing.
Spendthrift had announced back in September that Further Ado and fellow grade 1 winner Baeza would join the stallion roster. But following the Dirt Mile win, farm owner Eric Gustavson said that decision was going to be debated.
"We're in the business of standing stallions, so it's really tempting to go to the shed after this, off of a big win like that," he said. "But we're going to let it cool down, enjoy it for the weekend, and then we'll talk with the team, and we'll talk to (trainer) Brad (Cox) as well, obviously, and start formulating a plan."
Conventional wisdom aligns with launching a stud career off such a high-profile win but the lingering question is: What more could this elite runner accomplish given the opportunity? Further Ado's sire Gun Runner opens the door to the possibilities.
Gun Runner was brilliant at 3 and even better at 4.
At 3, Gun Runner won four graded stakes. He won the Risen Star Stakes (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2) on his way to a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1). After the Derby, he won the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) and Clark Handicap (G1) that were bookends to seconds in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and Pennsylvania Derby (G2) and a third in the Travers Stakes (G1). He ended 2016 with $1,970,880 in earnings.
At 4 in 2017, Gun Runner won five of six starts that included winning the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Woodward Stakes (G1), Whitney Stakes (G1), Stephen Foster Handicap (G1), and Razorback Handicap (G3). His only loss was a second in the Dubai World Cup (G1) to Arrogate. For the year, he earned $6,950,700 and was honored as Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male.
Gun Runner ran one time at 5, taking the $16.3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) in January 2018 and then entered stud that year with career earnings of $15,988,500.
Spendthrift chief operating officer and general manager Ned Toffey took some time during Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale Nov. 2 to layout the arguments for and against.
"There certainly is a logic that says off a win like that you come to stud with a lot of momentum and that makes all the sense in the world," Toffey said. "At the same time, he is our horse. We paid $550,000 for him, and he has already paid for himself.
"As a Gun Runner, there is some thought he could get better as a 4-year-old. Certainly as he has improved through the year, so I think that is believable," he added. "Physically, he is doing so well and put on weight this fall. He has thrived in training and it is very tempting to go on. We could try to have some fun with him and bolster his résumé that much more next year.
"So, the decision at this time is to continue to think about it."
Spendthrift bought Further Ado for $550,000 at the 2025 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale from consignor Six K's Training and Sales. The colt won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at 2 and went on at 3 to win the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and Matt Winn Stakes prior to the Breeders' Cup World Championships. He also ran second in the Pennsylvania Derby. To date, the colt has compiled a 5-2-1 record from 11 career stars and earned $2,181,958.
Handicap division success also can be found on the dam side of Further Ado's pedigree. The first foal out of his dam Sky Dreamer, a graded stakes-placed winner by Sky Mesa, is Kimbear, who won group stakes at 4 and 6 and was group-placed at 5. From 4 to 6, Kimbear earned 83% of his career earnings of $807,269.
