Photo:

Candice Chavez / Eclipse Sportswire

Three Chimneys homebred Gun Pilot, one of Gun Runner’s 13 millionaires and 10 Grade 1 winners, will take up stud duty at Three Chimneys alongside his sire, Gun Runner, for the 2025 breeding season.

A five-time stakes performer, Gun Pilot’s crowning achievement came this year at Churchill Downs on Derby day where he drew off by daylight in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes through a half in 44 seconds and change with a final time of 1:21 and change. Gun Pilot will make his final start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, coming off a runner-up performance in the Forego (G1) at Saratoga.

“I would describe him as brilliant and beautiful,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “He’s unbelievably talented and has a lot of the physical and personality traits of Gun Runner that we love, but he’s a much bigger version. I chased the Kentucky Derby with him last year, but he has proven he is at his best going one turn. He’s extremely fast for a big horse.”

Three Chimneys chairman Gonçalo Torrealba added, “We strongly believe Gun Runner will be a sire of sires and are thrilled to have his Grade I winning son, Gun Pilot, return home and stand alongside his sire for the upcoming breeding season. We will support him with plenty of quality mares from our broodmare band.”

“He is a big, powerful, scopey horse with a strong shoulder and a great hip,” board member Doug Cauthen said. “He will add size, length and strength to mares, and I think breeders will really like him. Sprinter-milers make good stallions and the Churchill Downs Stakes has been won by important stallions Distorted Humor and Speightstown, and recently by exceptional runners Cody’s Wish, Jackie’s Warrior and Mitole. It’s a real stallion making race.”

A stud fee will be announced after Gun Pilot’s final start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.