Karaka graduate on a Group 1 mission in Dubai

Gun Pit, a graduate of New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale, will try to confirm a shot at the world’s richest horse race when he runs in the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 at Meydan on Saturday.

The five-year-old son of Dubawi is trained by Caspar Fownes in Hong Kong, where he has won eight of his 20 starts.

Saturday’s race could earn Gun Pit a place in the field for the Group 1 US$10 million Dubai World Cup over the same course and distance on March 26.

Gun Pit, ridden by Zac Purdon wins 1,650m race at Sha Tin. Photo: Kenneth Chan.

“We could have run in the Group 3 over a mile on the same night, but we will go straight to 2000 metres and try and get him into the World Cup over the same distance three weeks later,” Fownes told the South China Morning Post this week.

“If it doesn’t work out, we still have an invite for the Group 2 Godolphin Mile on World Cup night, it’s a US$1 million race, so that is nothing to sneeze at.

“The Group 1 is not only a chance to see how he handles the competition, but more importantly, how he handles the dirt surface. Let’s hope he enjoys it in Dubai, because I feel he is ready to run some big races.”

Gun Pit’s opponents on Saturday include Keen Ice, who beat American Pharoah to win the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, along with elite performers Frosted and Mubtaahij.

Bred in Victoria by Tony Smeaton, Gun Pit was offered at the 2012 Ready to Run Sale by Lyndhurst Farm. He was bought by Michael Stedman Bloodstock for $250,000, and he is owned in Hong Kong by Cheng Chung Wah.