Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Further Ado

Further Ado joined the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a rallying win in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs.

A decade ago, the Kentucky Jockey Club marked the stakes debut of Further Ado’s sire, Gun Runner. The future 2017 Horse of the Year struggled in the Kentucky Jockey Club, finishing fourth, but matured to win 10 graded stakes (including six Grade 1s) and finish third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby.

By virtue of his win in the Kentucky Jockey Club, Further Ado has accomplished more as a juvenile than Gun Runner. And if he improves with maturity the way his sire did, Further Ado may exceed Gun Runner in the Kentucky Derby as well.

Four previous sons of Gun Runner have participated in the Kentucky Derby. Their results have been mixed. Taiba and Cyberknife found the challenge too steep in 2022, finishing 12th and 18th. Even though they entered as Grade 1 winners, they improved with maturity and ran their best races after the Kentucky Derby.

Disarm performed better in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, finishing fourth as a longshot. Then in 2024, Gun Runner’s most accomplished son, Sierra Leone, finished second by a nose in the 150th Kentucky Derby. Again, though, Disarm and Sierra Leone ran their best races after the Kentucky Derby, with Disarm finishing second in the Travers (G1) and Sierra Leone triumphing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) to earn champion three-year-old male honors.

Across the board, Gun Runner’s progeny tend to improve with maturity. Many have excelled over route distances, including 1 3/16-mile Preakness (G1) winner Early Voting and 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita H. (G1) conqueror Locked. But others have been sprinters and milers, such as champion two-year-old filly Echo Zulu and Grade 1 winners Gunite, Society, Vahva, and Gun Pilot. Improving with age is a trend that unifies Gun Runner’s progeny more than distance preferences.

Even Gun Runner’s elite juveniles have trained on to enjoy success as older horses. Echo Zulu, Gunite, and Locked all scored Grade 1 wins as juveniles, and they were still winning at the Grade 1 level (and arguably running better than ever) as four-year-olds.

This is an exciting thought for Further Ado, since it suggests his Kentucky Jockey Club triumph foreshadows greater wins to come. And nothing in the bottom half of his pedigree disagrees with this notion.

Further Ado’s dam is Sky Dreamer, a debut-winning juvenile who ran second in the Arlington Oaks (G3) at age three. She’s found greater success as a broodmare; prior to Further Ado, she foaled Kimbear, who peaked at age six with a triumph in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (G2).

Sky Dreamer is a daughter of Sky Mesa. While Sky Mesa peaked as a juvenile with wins in the Hopeful (G1) and Breeders’ Futurity (G1), he also flashed talent during a brief three-year-old campaign, finishing 7 1/4 lengths ahead of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide when second in the Haskell (G1).

As a stallion, Sky Mesa is best known for siring General Quarters, a multi-surface route racer who won the Blue Grass (G1) on synthetic, the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) on turf, and the Sam F. Davis (G3) on dirt. Sky Mesa has also sired Canadian champions Ami’s Mesa, Dynamic Sky, and Sky Promise; the first two excelled as older horses, while Sky Promise was an accomplished three-year-old.

Sky Mesa’s record as a broodmare sire is similar. His daughters have foaled Harmonize, winner of three graded stakes—including the Del Mar Oaks (G1)—from ages two to four; Bowies Hero, winner of the Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1) and Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at ages four and five; Private Creed, a stakes-winning juvenile who matured to win the Franklin-Simpson (G2) at age three; and Mansetti, winner of the King’s Plate S. and Marine (G3) as a three-year-old.

If there’s one downside to Sky Mesa from a Kentucky Derby perspective, it’s the fact that his progeny have compiled an average winning distance of 6.8 furlongs, indicating a stallion who sires plenty of sprinters and milers. But the average winning distance of Gun Runner’s progeny is a stouter 7.4 furlongs, which should help counterbalance Sky Mesa’s speedier genetics.

In any case, Further Ado is bred top and bottom to improve with maturity. If he turns out to be one of the long-winded Gun Runners like Sierra Leone or Locked (and there’s a strong chance he will), then Further Ado should be a force to reckon with in the 2026 Kentucky Derby and beyond.