Gunite's Brother Spice Runner Nips Comport in Iroquois

When Winchell Thoroughbreds' Gunite raced as a juvenile four years ago, his speed and talent were unmistakable, as evidenced by a victory in the 2021 Hopeful Stakes (G1) at seven furlongs. A couple of years later, he again scored at the top stakes level by taking another seven-furlong race at Saratoga Race Course, the 2023 Forego Stakes (G1). But a mile proved the limit of Gunite's effectiveness. Now Spice Runner, Gunite's full brother—a homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds by Gun Runner out of the Cowbal Cal mare Simple Surprise—is the early points leader on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, having picked up 10 points for running down favored Comport by a head to win the $299,400 Iroquois Stakes (G3) Sept. 13 over a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs. The Iroquois was the kickoff race of the series. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is hoping the towering Spice Runner might take to routing and wants to race a classic distance in a way his brother never did. "He's twice his size, so maybe he can go twice as far," Asmussen quipped in comparing the two. How he finished Saturday indicates his effectiveness over middle distances. Rating kindly in sixth but less than two lengths off the pack down the backstretch under Jose Ortiz, he steadily advanced and kicked on well through the stretch. Doggedly cutting into Comport's lead despite ducking in and out under riding-crop urging from Ortiz, he wore down Comport, tagging that one on the wire when the mid-race and early-stretch leader weakened in the final sixteenth. Spice Runner was timed in 1:36.59, following fractions of :22.69, :46.06, and 1:10.83 set by eventual last-place finisher No More Cents and later Comport. The winner returned $12.38 for a $2 wager. "I'm a little surprised that we were able to turn the tables," Winchell Thoroughbreds' racing manager David Fiske said of beating runner-up Comport. "But we've been waiting for him to do something like that." Vost, Nothing Personal, and Maximus Prime rounded out the order of finish for the top five. The Road to the Kentucky Derby series kicked off in the Iroquois, as did the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series earlier on Saturday with the Pocahontas Stakes (G3). The two races respectively provided qualifying points to the Derby and Oaks to their top five finishers on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis. No Iroquois participant has yet won the Derby, though two of its runners from last year, Owen Almighty and Sandman, ended up competing in the Run for the Roses. Owen Almighty, second in the Iroquois, ran fifth in the Derby, and Sandman, fifth in the Iroquois, splashed home seventh in this year's off-track classic. Iroquois runners are 0-1-1 in 32 starts in the Derby going back to 1983. With the Iroquois and the Pocahontas part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen program, the top three finishers from each race earned entry fees of $30,000, $15,000, and $7,500 toward participation in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), respectively. Both races are Oct. 31 at Del Mar. Spice Runner is the second graded stakes-winning juvenile of 2025 for Gun Runner after Brant won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) earlier this month. The third-ranked stallion in North America by 2025 earnings, Gun Runner stood this year for $250,000 at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky. Asmussen has trained a number of the sire's top progeny for Winchell Thoroughbreds, just as he campaigned Gun Runner. "What a family this has been, and I've been the fortunate recipient of so many of them from the Winchell family," he said. "It's just great to see him in the winter circle, and he's the point leader—a good place to start. We all know how much there is to do from here." Taken by the Wind Becomes First Stakes Winner for Rock Your World A year and a half ago, trainer Kenny McPeek and his wife Sherri—through Magdalena Racing—teamed with partners Mark Edwards and Judy Hicks to win the Kentucky Oaks (G1) with eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. Flash forward to September 2025, and the McPeeks are back on the Oaks trail, having the early points leader for the 2026 Run for the Lillies at Churchill Downs with Taken by the Wind. In romping to victory in the $251,250 Pocahontas Stakes for juvenile fillies and improving to 2-for-2, the Rock Your World filly picked up 10 points on the kickoff race on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, becoming the initial points leader. The most recent Pocahontas winners to experience Kentucky Oaks glory were Serengeti Empress in 2019 and Untapable in 2014. Fourth early in Saturday's race, Taken by the Wind dove inside to secure running room in the stretch and drew off to win by 5 1/4 lengths over Miss Complicated. She raced a mile on a fast track in 1:36.50 under Irad Ortiz Jr., after early splits in the race of :22.75, :45.57, and 1:10.48. She paid $14.10 to win Joke Maker ran third, followed by Dazzling Dame in fourth, and Our Two Girls—another Kenny McPeek trainee—in fifth. Though McPeek was not in attendance Saturday due to scouting for prospects at the ongoing Keeneland September Yearling Sale, nor the filly's most famous owner—NFL Hall of Famer and broadcaster Terry Bradshaw—many of the partners in Taken by the Wind were. That group included Sherri McPeek, Graham Leveston, and Gary Copeland, a member of the McPeeks' Magdalena Racing partnership and a friend of the trainer for 50 years. Courtney Meagher bred Taken by the Wind in Florida out of the First Samurai mare Up for Grabs. The winner initially was purchased by Kenny McPeek, agent for Walking L Thoroughbreds, for $70,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Yearling sale, then again by McPeek for $20,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale, as part of the Walking L Dispersal. Taken by the Wind is the first stakes winner for Spendthrift Farm's first-crop sire Rock Your World. The grade 1-winning son of Candy Ride (ARG) stood the 2025 breeding season in Kentucky for $5,000.