Gun Runner Tracking Toward Legendary Stud Career (2024)

In all sports, athletes and teams often face a well-established legend of the game that seemingly has the playing field on lockdown. Until they don't.

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls needed to get past the two-time National Basketball Association champion Detroit Pistons before they could begin their dynasty of six titles in eight years.

Three Chimneys Farm's Gun Runner looks up the BloodHorse general leading sires list to seeInto Mischief, who is eight years his senior, firmly parked atop the ranking. Spendthrift Farm's multiple leading sire had justbegun his run at the top when Gun Runner's first crop hit the tracks in 2021. Yet, here's Gun Runner sittingfourth in this latest edition of The List.

While Into Mischief continues to grab headlines and his progeny grab graded stakes,what Gun Runner has done as his fourth crop debuts this yearhas been nothing short of astounding.

The son of Candy Ride has continually risen among the ranks of North America's sires and has done so while matching a standard achieved only by Uncle Mo since 2000. But should the current rankings hold true for 2024, Gun Runner will do something no other sire has done this century.

Gun Runner, like Uncle Mo before him, began his stud career as a leading first-, second-, and third-crop sire. But the similarities don't end there.

Uncle Mo debuted on the general leading sires list 63rd overall in 2015 with progeny earnings of $3,670,354. Gun Runner first appeared as a freshman sire ranked 64th with $4,278,641. Adjusted for everyone's favorite—inflation—Uncle Mo earned $4,196,137 in 2024 dollars.

In his sophom*ore stallion campaign, Uncle Mo made an enormous jump—60 places—to No. 3 overall with $12,355,871 in earnings. Gun Runner, in 2022, proceeded to move up 59 spots to No. 5 thanks to $14,667,829 in earnings. Again, factoring in inflation for Uncle Mo, the winnings are a lot closer: $15,066,258 for Uncle Mo.

But in year three (2023), Gun Runner, who stands for $250,000 at Three Chimneys near Midway, Ky.,distanced himself from Uncle Mo as he moved up to third overall with earnings of $17,532,118. Uncle Mo's third crop banked $8,008,691 in 2017. The impact of inflation didn't close the gap that much, just more than $800,000.

This year alone, Gun Runner has seen his son Sierra Leone pocket nearly $1 million with wins in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and Risen Star Stakes (G2), with the Kentucky Derby (G1) on deck. Red Route One, who ran in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) a year ago, won the New Orleans Classic (G2) on March 23.

The roll call of his offspring reads like a who's who in Thoroughbred racing over the last three years: Echo Zulu, Gunite, Taiba, Cyberknife, Society, Early Voting, and Wicked Halo, to name a few.

What this all means long term is yet to be determined. But what we can see is that Gun Runner is on a path that could one day put him at the summit.

There is still so much that has to go right for Gun Runner and so much that can go wrong. But the foundation to becoming a legendary sire is there. A few more years like the first three and it might be Gun Runner whose shadow looms large over the general sires list.

THIS WEEK'S RANKINGS

ONE TO WATCH

While he sits on the outside looking in on the Top 25, Oxbow has had a good couple of weeks and resides at No. 35. Tuz won the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) and Youalmosthadmefinished third in the Beaumont Stakes (G2) at Keeneland. It will be worth watching to see if the son of Awesome Again can make The List.