Short Rest No Concern for Gunite, Wicked Halo

When traditionalists look at the past performances of Gunite  and Wicked Halo  for their respective Breeders' Cup races, it has to bring a smile.

There's something about the two Winchell Thoroughbreds runners that you will not see in any of the other 175 horses entered in the 14 Breeders' Cup races this weekend at Keeneland.

They are both running with just two weeks' rest.

In a move more befitting the first Breeders' Cup than the 39th, the presence of both Steve Asmussen-trained horses comes at a time when two months of rest is far more fashionable for a major race than two weeks. Yet after a pair of winning stakes efforts at Keeneland Oct. 22, the connections had no qualms about running back Nov. 5 at the World Championships.

"There was a brief discussion about running them in the Breeders' Cup," said David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds. "There was a comment or maybe someone mentioned that it's short rest and someone answered that they do it in the Preakness all the time. So we said, 'Good point. OK, let's move on to something else.'"

Gunite, a 3-year-old homebred son of Gun Runner  , won the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland by 3 3/4 lengths and is the 7-2 second choice in the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). Wicked Halo, a 3-year-old homebred daughter of Gun Runner, posted her fourth straight victory, a four-length score in the Raven Run Stakes (G2) at Keeneland and is listed as a 10-1 shot in $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1).

When both emerged from those races showing vim and vigor, it was all systems go for the Breeders' Cup.

"It's not unprecedented to come back in two weeks," Fiske said. "It's just not something a lot of people do these days. Gunite, in particular, came out of his race very well. He didn't seem to exert himself too much in the Perryville. He gets around Keeneland very well and he's a lot like Epicenter , he seems to show up every time."

Including runner-up Epicenter this spring, Asmussen has two wins and two seconds in the Preakness with horses who ran two weeks earlier on Kentucky Derby (G1) weekend. He has no qualms about running on what is perceived these days as "short rest."

"With 50,000 starts, we've had a lot of different patterns, and with two weeks' rest our percentages are great," the Hall of Fame trainer said. "Our horses have responded very well to it and this is an opportunity both horses deserve."

From a historical standpoint, both horses are trying to become the first Breeders' Cup winner on two weeks' rest since 2018, when Shamrock Rose used a win in the Oct. 20 Raven Run as a stepping stone to victory in the Nov. 3 Filly and Mare Sprint. Since then, the only winner with three weeks of rest or less was Spun to Run   in the 2019 Dirt Mile.

At last year's event, a four-week gap was the shortest for the 14 winners, and three of them last raced in August. 

Reflective of how training methods have evolved, at the first Breeders' Cup in 1984, four of the seven winners raced on 14 days of rest or fewer, with Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Wild Again having just 12 days between races. 

Realistically, the placement of major preps four or five weeks away from the World Championships explains the dearth of winners on short rest. Yet the example of the Raven Run illustrates how a prep at the same track or in the same state two or three weeks before the Breeders' Cup could produce an extra starter or two that has fitness on its side.

"I wouldn't ship cross country on two weeks' rest," Asmussen said. "But if they have a race close to the Breeders' Cup and it's at the same track or nearby, I would suggest you would definitely get another starter for the Breeders' Cup.

"With a track like Keeneland, not everybody runs their race there. We've seen it time and time again. So with (Gunite and Wicked Halo) running their best races ever over the Keeneland track, I think it's a wonderful opportunity for them to be in the Breeders' Cup there."