Runninsonofagun Back for More in Fall Highweight

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Runninsonofagun Back for More in Fall Highweight
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Runninsonofagun wins the Bold Ruler Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack

Graded stakes winner Runninsonofagun  has been a consistent competitor throughout his entire career. After breaking through against stakes competition last out, the son of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner   will look to notch a second consecutive graded stakes score when he competes in the $175,000 Fall Highweight Handicap (G3) for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs Nov. 26 on the Aqueduct Racetrack main track.

Owned by the Estate of Scott Zimmerman, Runninsonofagun is 4-1-5 in 11 starts, with his lone non-placing coming when sixth in his stakes debut in March at Aqueduct in the Gotham Stakes (G3). Since then, the sophomore gelding has earned black type in six consecutive starts, including a victory by a nose over Eastern Bay  last out in Bold Ruler Stakes (G3), contested at the Fall Highweight distance, Oct. 29 at Aqueduct.


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"He seems to get better and better with every start," trainer John Toscano Jr. said. "He has a lot of fight in him. No matter where I place him, he gives us 100 percent. It looks like he enjoys running at Aqueduct, but to be honest, he has performed well at Saratoga and Belmont as well."

As the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday deals are advertised, Toscano said he thinks back to when his barn received a great value when claiming Runninsonofagun for $40,000 on New Year's Eve 2021. Entering the weekend, he has already amassed $341,050 in earnings in 2022 and can still add to that total.

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Runninsonofagun, assigned a co-field high 132 pounds in a race in which hefty weight assignments are the norm, will have rider Kendrick Carmouche in the irons from post 7.

Michael Scheffres' Factor It In  (post 6, Irad Ortiz, Jr. 132 pounds) gave Runninsonofagun a strong challenge in the stretch in the Bold Ruler, finishing a half-length off the winner and just a neck behind runner-up Eastern Bay for a strong third-place effort. Trained by Carlos Mancilla, Factor It In has only improved with age and he looms a threat again.

The field is completed by Jaxon Traveler , Greeley and Ben , Bezos , Synthesis , and Happy Farm .

General Jim Commands Respect in Central Park

The 109th running of the Fall Highweight is carded as race 8 on Saturday's 10-race program, which also features the Red Smith Stakes (G2T) for 3-year-olds and up competing at 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf and the $120,000 Central Park Stakes for 2-year-olds going one mile on the turf.

The Central Park is led by Courtlandt Farms' talented juvenile General Jim , who races in stakes company for the first time after a maiden and an allowance win.

"I think he likes the turf. His two races on the turf have been good, and his one at Keeneland was excellent," Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said. "Not that I won't try him on the dirt again. We'll just see how he comes along. Being by Into Mischief, he ought to like it, but the light did go off, and he trained well from Saratoga breaking his maiden to the race at Keeneland."

The race includes the 2-3-4 finishers from the Oct. 29 Awad Stakes—Dandy Handyman , Let's Go Big Blue , and Noble Huntsman .


Entries: Fall Highweight H. (G3)

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, November 26, 2022, Race 8

  • Grade III
  • 6f
  • Dirt
  • $175,000
  • 3 yo's & up
  • 3:14 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Greeley and Ben (KY) Manuel Franco 130 Faith Wilson 9/2
2 2Jaxon Traveler (MD)Keeneland Sales Graduate Jose Lezcano 131 Steven M. Asmussen 6/1
3 3Happy Farm (FL) Dylan Davis 128 Michael Miceli 5/1
4 4Bezos (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Omar Hernandez Moreno 123 Chandradat Goberdhan 30/1
5 5Synthesis (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Jose L. Ortiz 128 David Jacobson 5/1
6 6Factor It In (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Irad Ortiz, Jr. 132 Carlos A. Mancilla 3/1
7 7Runninsonofagun (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Kendrick Carmouche 132 John T. Toscano, Jr. 2/1


Entries: Central Park S.

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, November 26, 2022, Race 5

  • STK
  • 1m
  • Outer turf
  • $120,000
  • 2 yo
  • 1:46 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Calycanthus (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 120 Todd A. Pletcher 10/1
2 2Bat Flip (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 120 Todd A. Pletcher 9/2
3 3Liar's Poker (NY) Dylan Davis 120 Christophe Clement 8/1
4 4Noble Huntsman (NY) Javier Castellano 120 Mitchell E. Friedman 10/1
5 5Ramblin' Wreck (NY) Manuel Franco 120 Danny Gargan 15/1
6 6Sweetlou'sgotaces (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. 115 Raymond Handal 8/1
7 7Dandy Handyman (KY) Jose Lezcano 120 Keri Brion 6/1
8 8Dr. Settle's Dream (NY) Joel Rosario 120 William I. Mott 12/1
9 9Let's Go Big Blue (NY) Eric Cancel 120 George Weaver 4/1
10 10General Jim (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Junior Alvarado 122 Claude R. McGaughey III 7/2