Grade 1 winner Gun Pilot’s first foal, a Bay Colt

Three Chimneys Farm announced its first winning millionaire on January 29 Rifle pilot a homebred Three Chimneys, is represented by his first reported foal, bred by Tommy Wente’s St. Simon Place near Lexington. The bay colt is out of the winning mare Just Life, a half-sister to the ranked Electability and comes from the female family of Lion Heart.

Wente’s foal by Gun Pilot, a grade 1-winning son of Rifle runner one of his father’s 16 millionaires and 12 Grade 1 winners, marks the first finish for the veteran sprinter/miler. Gun Pilot’s crowning achievement came on Derby Day Churchill Downs in 2024, where he set out in daylight to capture the $1 million Churchill Downs Stakes (G1). The race has long served as a proving ground for elite stallions. Previous winners include Distorted Humor, Speightstown and more recently Cody’s wish And Mind frame .

“He’s a big, big-boned colt. The first thing I noticed was how much he looked like his father: big and strong. I bred four mares from him last year, and if they look like that, you have to go back,” Wente said.

“Gun Pilot is a lot like Gun Runner: powerful, strong and has great movement, but with a little more size and substance than his sire. Progeny from sons of Gun Runner are in high demand, and as Gun Pilot enters his second year as a stud, he represents a great opportunity for breeders to access this highly sought-after sire line. Three of the top five 3-year-olds on the BloodHorse Derby Dozen are by Gun Runner,” said Rebecca Nicholson, stallion director. nominations at Three Chimneys Farm.

This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.