Gun Runner
$100.000 For Two Year Olds
1 1/16 Miles – Dirt
Fairgrounds – December 20, 2025

In the preview for this race I had said that it looked like Chasing Magic was ready to run a good race and return to form and he did exactly that in a come from behind win to throw his name into the Kentucky Derby discussion picking up precious points towards his cause of making his way into the gate the first Saturday in May. In what was almost an exact duplicate of the filly race won by West Coast Girls earlier on the card Chasing Magic broke from post eight, dropped to last and chewed up the field in the stretch to take the win.

Winner: Chasing Magic (Mb Stables/B. Curtis) Chase My Tail Lights/Soho Sorceress (Soho Jackman) Breaking from post position eight jockey B. Curtis took Chasing Magic back to last going into the first turn and sat back off of a relatively leisurely pace. The top two finishes kept each other company through most of the race and both began their big moves going into the final turn. Ridden patiently Chasing Magic was kept to the inside and found a dream trip and made his way through a big hole at the top of the stretch and kicked strongly to hit the wire first by a half of a length. 

Second: Term Limits (TwinTowersRacing/M. Franco) Neon Wolf/Ginger Pansy (Ginger Haggis) Was far back early with eventual winner Chasing Magic early in the race. As the came around the final turn Term Limits moved powerfully to the outside and made his presence felt at the top of the stretch. His rival took a path closer to the rail and that difference of ground could have made the difference as they both put in big runs. Got the jump on the winner in making his move but was outrun in the very late stages. 

Third: Fear Of Walking Dead (Big Guns Stables/L. Saez) War Chant/Sneaky Lil Cobra (King Cobra) One of the marquee names coming into the race he was set off as the 3-1 favorite. He sat up close early and pressed the pace. Grabbed the lead coming into the stretch and looked like he might be a winner but the two that bested him late were too much for him to hold off on this day. Talented colt who I expect to be part of the Derby conversation next year. He currently sits in twelfth place in the early standings to qualify.

Fourth: Peepers (Crocker Ggs/E. Maldonado) First Look/Shes Real Fine (Motorhead) First effort routing proved that he can handle the distance. The homebred gelding ran midpack and put in a strong stretch drive when he found a hole late. Was closing fast but the top two had a little more turn of foot in this instance.

Chasing Magic is currently in ninth place in the KY Derby qualifying points standings. Great news on the surface. Unfortunately for him, he is only fourth on the Mb Stables standings and he has that in-house battle to consider. He is the only one of the four current Mb points getters who is “intact” so it will be something to keep an eye on how he is handled going forward. King Cobra in 2015 was the last horse to win the big race and go on to the breeding shed. It would be nice to see a colt able to beat back the mutated gelded gang for a change. That’s some real magic being chased. Just something I’m rooting for. 

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded