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Bottas Chases Millionaire Status In Gun Runner Stakes
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- Bottas Chases Millionaire Status In Gun Runner Stakes
Bottas Chases Millionaire Status In Gun Runner Stakes
Dahman's dual graded stakes winner Bottas has not raced outside of Saratoga in three starts this season, but that will change when he takes on a full field of 14 in Labor Day Monday's $1.75 million KTDF Gun Runner for 3-year-olds going one mile at Kentucky Downs.
The KTF Gun Runner is one of five stakes events that encompass the final day of the three-day U.S. Open of Turf Championships. The lucrative card is spearheaded by the G3, $2 million Mint Millions and the G2, $1.5 million The Mint Franklin-Simpson, and also features the $750,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies and the $250,000 Lucky Lantern.
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Bottas is a graded stakes winner at ages 2, and 3, capturing the G2 Pilgrim last October at Aqueduct in his stakes debut as well as the last-out G2 Hall of Fame on Aug. 7 going one mile at Saratoga. Trained by Miguel Clement, the son of third-crop sire Vekoma was third beaten 1 ½ lengths in his 2026 debut in the G3 Pennine Ridge at Saratoga, before a troubled but narrow fifth in the G1 Belmont Derby on July 4, beaten only 1 ¼ to the victorious Title Role.
"I thought his last performance was his best," Clement said. "I thought his effort in the Pennine Ridge was a good performance as well, and in the Belmont Derby, he just lacked a little bit of racing luck. He was always a bit bottled in, and was only beaten a length and a half on the grass."
The Hall of Fame conquest came at a fitting time, as the race was held on the same day that Clement's late father, Christophe Clement, was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.
"It was perfect timing," Clement said. "We had the whole family here as well as a huge CC [Christophe Clement] alumni group. So the whole Clement tribe was there, so it was terrific to win that race that day."
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Breaking from post 6, Bottas will be ridden for the first time by Jose Ortiz.
Juddmonte's Kentucky homebred Touch of Fire will look to get back on the winning track for trainer Brad Cox. The son of Constitution was a narrow third as the favorite in the last out Hall of Fame, finishing just 1 ¾ lengths behind Bottas, which came following a close fourth in the G1 Belmont Derby. A TDN Rising Star following a seven-length debut win in January at Fair Grounds, Touch of Fire was second in the Black Gold at Fair Grounds two starts before winning the Audubon at Churchill Downs.
Reigning Eclipse Champion jockey Flavien Prat, aboard Touch of Fire in the Belmont Derby, will ride from post 2.
Holly and David Wilson's Mr. A.P. [post 10, Joel Rosario] will bring his newfound affinity for turf to Kentucky Downs for trainer Vladimir Cerin. The son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah was second at 20-1 odds in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar, before coming off an eight-month layoff for his 3-year-old and turf debut to finish third in the Oceanside at Del Mar. He enters from an allowance win over the Del Mar turf.
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Qatar Racing's Infiltrate [post 9, Tyler Gaffalione] also has blossomed since racing on grass, finishing second in his 2026 debut in the last-out G2 Secretariat on Aug. 1 at Colonial Downs. The Brendan Walsh-trained son of Oscar Performance finished only a half-length behind the victorious Supercharger in the 1 1/16-mile test after a 2-year-old campaign which saw three main track starts. He broke his maiden at first asking last August at Ellis Park two starts before defeating winners in an off-the-turf allowance event going a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs.
John Oxley, Linda Casse, Eric Long, and TLR Thoroughbreds' Brave Force [post 8, Jaime Spencer] will attempt to make his sire Gun Runner proud in winning his namesake race. Trained by Jack Sisterson, Brave Force broke his maiden over the winter going two turns over Turfway Park's all-weather surface two starts before beating winners in an off-the-turf allowance at Churchill Downs in May. He enters from a pair of stakes efforts on grass when third in the American Derby at Churchill Downs, and fourth in the Water Tower at Ellis Park.
Completing the field are G1-placed Vitruvian Man [post 1, Brian Hernandez, Jr.], stakes winner Khozalite [post 3, Leonel Reyes], stakes winner Turf Star [post 4, Ben Curtis], stakes winner Conducted [post 5, Luis Saez], maiden winner Fuzzbuster [post 7, Jaime Torres], two-time winner Go for Rocket [post 11, Francisco Arrieta], dual stakes winner and Kentucky Downs 2-for-2 Street Beast [post 12, Luan Machado], stakes winner Proton [post 13, Umberto Rispoli], and stakes winner Blackmail [post 14, Javier Castellano]. Baytown Dreamer [post 15, Yedsit Hazlewood] has been entered as also eligible.
The Gun Runner honors the 2017 Champion Older Horse, Horse of the Year, and Hall of Fame inductee. Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, and trained by Hall of famer Steve Asmussen, Gun Runner retired as one of the all-time money-earning North American Thoroughbreds with career earnings of nearly $16 million. On the breeding front, Gun Runner has sired Eclipse Champions like Sierra Leone [2024 Champion 3-Year-Old], Echo Zulu [2021 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly], and Super Corredora [2025 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly].
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The Gun Runner is carded as Race 9 with a 4:10 PM CT scheduled post time. First post for the 14-race card is 11:30 AM CT.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Sep 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
