LEXINGTON, Ky. – Grade 1-winning multimillionaire Gunite made his name with several hard-knocking seasons on the racetrack. It’s been nearly two years since that career concluded, but his name has come up a number of times this fall due to the commercial success of his sireline and how well his full brother has performed on the racetrack. Now, Gunite gets a chance to put his name forward as his first-crop weanlings come to sales rings in Kentucky.
Gunite raced as a homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds, which also co-campaigned his sire, Hall of Famer Gun Runner. Both were trained by Steve Asmussen. Gunite won the Grade 1 Hopeful at 2, and the following year, won four stakes, highlighted by the Grade 2 Amsterdam, while also finishing second in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial.
As a 4-year-old in 2023, Gunite never missed the top three while competing exclusively in stakes. After winning the King Cotton at Oaklawn Park, he traveled across the globe, finishing second to champion sprinter Elite Power in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint before running third, beaten a half-length by Sibelius, in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen.
Gunite won the Aristides at Churchill Downs that June before finishing second by a head to Elite Power in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap. Gunite then defeated Elite Power in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga.
After finishing third in the Parx Dirt Mile – on a sloppy track, likely beyond his best distance – Gunite was second to Elite Power in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He concluded his racing career with a mark of 21-9-8-2 and earnings of more than $2.4 million.
Gunite retired to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud and covered 256 mares in 2024, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares bred. That not only led his first-season class, it was third in the nation behind two Ashford stablemates, Justify and Practical Joke, both proven sires.
Coolmore representative M.V. Magnier mentioned that early reception often as the Coolmore group chased after yearlings by Gun Runner at this season’s yearling sales.
“Gun Runner’s flying,” Magnier said after signing for the $3.3 million sale topper at the Keeneland September yearling sale. “And we’ve got Gunite at home at Ashford there, and he was very popular, got a big book of mares.”
Gun Runner led Keeneland September by average price, and his first sons with yearlings this year, Cyberknife and Early Voting, both had solid returns on investment compared to their stud fees.
Gunite’s family also was continuing to develop with the emergence of his full brother Spice Runner. The Winchell homebred is out of the Cowboy Cal mare Simple Surprise and also is trained by Asmussen. The colt, who Asmussen describes as much bigger than his sprinter brother, won the Grade 3 Iroquois at a mile at Churchill Downs. His effort in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, in which he was fifth after a bad stumble at the start, can be thrown out the next time he appears in the entries.
“He’s just a huge horse, especially for a 2-year-old,” Asmussen said. “What a family this has been, and I’ve been the fortunate recipient of so many of them from the Winchell family.”
Gunite’s offspring will hit the market at the November mixed sales in Kentucky. The young stallion, who stood for an advertised fee of $35,000, has four first-crop weanlings cataloged at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale on Nov. 3. That’s solid representation for this elite, single-session sale, which offers a smaller selection of weanlings that often trends toward proven stock. Gunite’s group includes a filly out of Yanira, a half-sister to reigning Broodmare of the Year Puca.
Gunite then has 46 weanlings cataloged across the Keeneland November breeding stock sale that begins Nov. 4, three in Book 1. Those include a half-sibling to stakes winner Life Mission, from the immediate family of Gun Runner’s multiple Grade 1 winner Locked.
Gunite’s old rival Elite Power (Juddmonte) is one of two champion sons of emerging sire-of-sires Curlin in this first-crop weanling class. The other is 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish (Darley). Both stallions are represented in both November sales in Kentucky. Cody’s Wish has four cataloged at Fasig-Tipton, including a half-brother to Grade 1-placed stakes winner Munnys Gold. His 21 cataloged at Keeneland include, in Book 1, half-siblings to graded stakes winners Two Phil’s and to Pretty N Cool.
Elite Power’s pair at Fasig-Tipton include a filly out of Grade 1 winner Sippican Harbor. He has 25 weanlings cataloged across Keeneland, including, in Book 1, half-siblings to graded stakes winners Implicated and to the good sprinter Hollis.
Also represented with their first weanlings at these two November sales are Eclipse Award champions Arcangelo (Lane’s End), Forte (Spendthrift Farm), and Up to the Mark (Lane’s End); Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Airdrie Stud); Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer (WinStar Farm); Grade 1 winners Americanrevolution (Rockridge Stud), Annapolis (Claiborne Farm), Arabian Lion (Spendthrift), Dr. Schivel (Taylor Made Farm), Proxy (Darley), Taiba (Spendthrift), and Zandon (Spendthrift); graded stakes winners Fulsome (Walmac Farm) and Pappacap (Walmac); Grade 1-placed Loggins (Walmac); and the winner Mullion (Sequel Stallions).
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