Gun Pilot's First Foal: Bay Colt Bred at St. Simon Place

Grade 1 winner Gun Pilot has been represented by his first reported foal, a bay colt foaled and bred at Tommy Wente’s St. Simon Place near Lexington, Three Chimneys announced Jan. 29. The arrival spotlights a promising start to the stallion’s book as Gun Pilot prepares to enter his second year at stud.

The colt is out of the winning mare Just Life, by Honor Code, a half-sister to graded-stakes-placed Electability, by Quality Road. The family traces to the Lion Heart female line, a pedigree connection that enhances the colt’s appeal to commercial breeders and racehorse owners seeking speed and durability in sprint and mile divisions.

Gun Pilot raced for Three Chimneys and compiled five wins and five placings, including a dramatic score in the 2024 GI Churchill Downs Stakes on Derby Day, when he “drew off by daylight to capture the $1 million Churchill Downs Stakes (G1).” The gelding’s on-track résumé also includes a placing in the GI Forego Stakes. He is described as a grade 1-winning millionaire and a homebred son of Gun Runner out of Bush Pilot, by Smart Strike.

Tommy Wente, who bred the colt at St. Simon Place, reacted to the foal’s physical presence. “He's a big colt with a lot of bone. The first thing that struck me was how much he looked like his sire - big and strong. I bred four mares to him last year, and when they come out looking like this, you've got to go back,” Wente said, signaling immediate confidence in repeating the mating pattern.

Three Chimneys is marketing Gun Pilot as a second-year stallion with commercial upside. Rebecca Nicholson, director of stallion nominations at Three Chimneys, highlighted the colt’s physical relationship to his sire line and the market traction for Gun Runner offspring. “Gun Pilot is very much like Gun Runner - scopey, strong, and a great mover but with a bit more size and substance than his sire,” Nicholson said. “Progeny by sons of Gun Runner have been in high demand, and with Gun Pilot entering his second year at stud, he represents a great opportunity for breeders to access this highly sought-after sire line.”

The farm’s announcement also noted that Gun Runner has sired 16 millionaires and 12 Grade 1 winners, a statistic that underlines the commercial rationale for supporting Gun Pilot as a stallion. Gun Pilot is set to stand the 2026 season at Three Chimneys for a fee of $12,500.

For racing fans and breeders, the colt is an early indicator of Gun Pilot’s potential to transmit his Derby Day acceleration and physicality to his offspring. With a successful race record, a marketable sire line, and thoughtful early matings such as Just Life, Gun Pilot’s first foal will be watched closely as part of his inaugural crops and as a measure of the stallion’s long-term impact on the stallion ranks.