Horse Racing

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Whitney Countdown Saturday, August 5, 2017 Saratoga

Tu Brutus
Keen Ice
Gun Runner
War Story
Cautious Giant
Breaking Lucky
Discreet Lover

Whitney BreakdownThe prep season for the 2017 Breeders’ Cup World Championships is in full swing, and this Saturday, Aug. 5, one of the most prestigious races for older dirt horses in North America, the Grade 1 ,$1.2 million Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, will bring together some of the leading contenders for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. (AMERICA'S BEST RACING)

Position DrawingWinchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimney's multiple Grade 1 winner Gun Runner will attempt to bolster his status as one of the top older horses in the world, wearing the target as the 4-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven for the Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney, the traditional focal race for older horses in the 149th Saratoga Race Course meet. A “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 4 at Del Mar, the 90th running of the 1 1/8-mile Whitney anchors an outstanding day of live racing Saturday that also includes the Grade 1, $500,000 Test, the Grade 3, $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya, the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose and the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure. Currently ranked third in Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings and second in NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, Gun Runner underscored his impressive runner-up finish to top-ranked Arrogate in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in March with a front-running, seven-length win in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on June 17 at Churchill Downs. (PAULICK)

Analysis The huge favorite in the Whitney will undoubtedly be Gun Runner, who has risen to impressive heights this year. Following a productive three-year-old campaign that included four graded stakes wins, culminating with a gate-to-wire romp over older horses in the Clark Handicap (gr. I), Gun Runner has gone 2-for-3 this year while winning the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) and running second to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I). (BLOODHORSE)