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Runninsonofagun locks in on Listed $150K Fall Highweight

by Christian Abdo

Karen Zimmerman’s dual Grade 3-winner Runninsonofagun looks to secure his second consecutive local stakes score in Friday’s Listed $150,000 Fall Highweight, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by John Toscano, Jr., the 5-year-old Gun Runner gelding enters from a win in the six-furlong Grade 3 Bold Ruler on October 26 at Belmont at the Big A. In the stretch, My Buddy B maintained the lead as Runninsonofagun, under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario, challenged from the outside, with the pair making contact inside the final sixteenth. My Buddy B kept his nose in front at the wire, but was disqualified and placed second following a stewards’ inquiry.

The elevation to first made Runninsonofagun a winner for the first time in his past nine starts, dating to the 2022 Bold Ruler. He exited that performance to finish a neck second in that year’s Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap, ahead of another runner-up finish in the six-furlong Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap the following March. He made one more outing in 2023 before an over one-year layoff and a return this May.

“He looks like he is coming around now. It took him a little while after he was off for about a year. It took a little bit to get him into gear and now he is at his best,” said Toscano, Jr. “We’ll see what happens. He likes the winter months, it is a little easier than the summer, so hopefully he’ll be competitive in this spot.”

Runninsonofagun [post 6, Joel Rosario, 133 pounds] hit the board in the 2022 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial and Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga Race Course, won by multiple Grade 1 winners and now stallions Jack Christopher and Gunite, respectively. He also placed in the 2022 Grade 2 Gallant Bob at Parx Racing and Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park.

“As a 3-year-old, he ran good in the summer. He ran into Jack Christopher in the Jerkens and he was second in the Dwyer. He has had a lot of good performances,” Toscano, Jr. said. “He tailed off, but now he is regaining his form. Hopefully he can sustain it right into next year. He’s a gelding, so his only M.O. is to run. He will go as long as he stays sound and wants to race.”

Bred by Dattt Farm, Runninsonofagun, out of the dual stakes-placed Malibu Moon mare Golden Artemis, is a half-brother to Grade 1-winner My Conquestadory.

Lea Farms’ multiple graded stakes-winner Super Chow [post 2, David Egan, 133 pounds] won a pair of Grade 3 sprints here earlier this year, landing the Toboggan in February and the Tom Fool Handicap in March.

Trained by Jorge Delgado, the 4-year-old Lord Nelson colt has banked $795,920 through a 21-9-4-5 record, adding another Grade 3 win in the Maryland Sprint in May at Pimlico Race Course.

Super Chow’s 18-for-21 on-the-board record also includes placings in the local Grade 2 Carter presented by NYRA Bets in April and the Grade 3 Swale last February at Gulfstream Park.

Bred by Spendthrift Farm, Super Chow, out of the Warrior’s Reward mare Bonita Mia, is a full-brother to stakes-winner Princess Indy. He was a $75,000 purchase at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training.

Hall of Famer Bill Mott will saddle Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber and Jerold Zaro’s Grade 1-placed Baby Yoda [post 3, Javier Castellano, 133 pounds] off a layoff dating to a fourth in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Vosburgh on September 28 here. The Vosburgh followed off-the-board finishes at the Grade 1 level in the Forego and Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap over the summer at the Spa.

Baby Yoda looks to return to the form that saw him win the Grade 2 True North presented by F.W. Webb in June during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga. There, the 6-year-old Prospective gelding pressed the pace before drawing off by six lengths under Eric Cancel. The performance earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure - his highest other than a 114 as a sophomore in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance win at Saratoga.

Dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox will saddle the graded stakes-placed pair of Top Gunner [post 8, Jose Lezcano, 131 pounds] and Giant Mischief [post 9, Manny Franco, 128 pounds], who is cross-entered in the Thanksgiving Classic on Thursday at Fair Grounds.

Michael Dubb’s Top Gunner won the Parx Sprint in September at its namesake course but was fifth last-out in the Bold Ruler here. The 7-year-old Into Mischief gelding stumbled at the start, but recovered quickly to press the pace and subsequently weakened.

“He’s doing well,” said Cox’s New York-based assistant Dustin Dugas. “He bounced out of the last race in good order. He didn’t run as good as we thought he was going to, but he bounced out of it in good shape. He’s been training really good. When he won down at Parx, he won from off-the-pace, last time he may have gone a touch quick - he didn’t run his race, but given the hand he was dealt, he had to go a little bit.”

Top Gunner boasts a 31-7-5-8 record with $598,979 in earnings, including a third in the 2022 Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland.

Giant Mischief enters from a pacesetting 1 3/4-length score in a 6 1/2-furlong optional claimer on October 12 at Keeneland. The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay was making his first start since a third in the Grade 1 Malibu last December at Santa Anita Park.

“He’s been down in Kentucky so I haven’t seen him, but he seems like a nice horse, and they were really happy with the way he was training down there. So Brad is going to take a stab with him as well,” said Dugas.

Giant Mischief is owned by Spendthrift Farm, Stonestreet Stables, Steve Landers, Martin Schwartz, Michael Dubb, Ten Strike Racing, James Bakke, Titletown Racing Stables, Kueber Racing, Big Easy Racing, Rick Kanter and Michael Caruso.

Rounding out the field is Grade 3-winner Dean Delivers [post 5, Kendrick Carmouche, 131 pounds] for trainer Ned Allard; dual Grade 3-placed Twenty Four Mamba [post 4, Dylan Davis, 128 pounds] for conditioner Charlton Baker; Grade 2-placed Witty [post 7, Jevian Toledo, 131 pounds], who is cross-entered in the Let's Give Thanks on Wednesday at Parx for trainer Elizabeth Merryman; and stakes-placed Downtownchalybrown [post 1, Jose Gomez, 128 pounds] for trainer Peter Synnefias.

The Fall Highweight is slated as Race 7 on Friday’s nine-race card. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.