Run the Gantlet: Enigmatic champion of the turf

The good ones sometimes come in waves. For a period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the tide was extraordinarily high for Paul Mellon.

Billionaire philanthropist and master of Rokeby Stable, Mellon couldn't stop winning. At the front end of this era were three-time grass champion Fort Marcy and classic winner Arts and Letters, both Horses of the Year and eventual inductees into the Hall of Fame. On the back end of the run were Key to the Mint, who slipped past dual classic winner Riva Ridge to garner a three-year-old title in 1972, and Summer Guest, who found only Susan's Girl blocking her path among that year's three-year-old fillies.

The middle period was highlighted by Mellon's best horse, Mill Reef. More than two decades before Mellon smelled roses at the Kentucky Derby (G1) with Sea Hero, Mill Reef gave the Virginian a win in the 1971 Derby (G1) at Epsom. One of Europe's all-time greats, Mill Reef also snared the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. (G1), and Eclipse S. (G1), to name a few.

While Mill Reef was dominating the European turf, Mellon found a useful but enigmatic successor to Fort Marcy for America's top grass events. At least for one season, Run the Gantlet did his part in riding the Mellon wave.

By Preakness winner and champion Tom Rolfe, Run the Gantlet was reared by First Feather, a minor-winning daughter of juvenile champions First Landing and Quill. His name, which at the time was often considered a misspelling of "gauntlet," was actually not; "running the gantlet" was a form of military punishment in which an offender turned between two rows of men, striking him with various weapons as he passed.

Run the Gantlet's preparation for stardom was no different than others blessed by Rokeby birth. "While some owners assume a bird-in-the-hand approach, often overracing and totaling their horses, Mellon can and does afford his young Thoroughbreds time to mature, or to freshen up or overcome illness or injury," legendary turf writer Charles Hatton explained.

Although Run the Gantlet debuted in May, going five furlongs, it wasn't until he added blinkers and ran a mile, over five months later, that he recorded his first victory. Two turns proved even better for him. After losing by a neck in an allowance prep, Run the Gantlet returned the following week to post a 9-1 upset in the Garden State S., at the time the richest race in America (with a gross purse of more than $2.9 million in current dollars).

Run the Gantlet's three-year-old debut in 1971 was delayed until May due to infirmities. But even if he had come around in time for the classics, his increasingly indifferent form on dirt suggested he wouldn't have made much impact.

Staring at a potential future banging around the allowance ranks if confined to the main track, Run the Gantlet was soon allowed to test his abilities on the turf by trainer Elliott Burch. While the experiment was not immediately successful -- two second-place efforts in allowance company -- they were at least encouraging.

Run the Gantlet next joined stablemate Fort Marcy and the top-class mare Drumtop in the Sept. 4 Kelly-Olympic H. at Atlantic City, a local prep for the United Nations H. two weeks later. Coupled in the wagering but with the crowd clearly favoring Fort Marcy among the two, Run the Gantlet nonetheless made good, this time over firm going.

Getting 11 pounds actual weight (six on the scale) from the accomplished but declining Fort Marcy, Run the Gantlet got the jump on his main rivals and won by three parts of a length. Fort Marcy, needing more distance, finished a belated third, while Drumtop didn't fire at all.

Burch tabbed Run the Gantlet as the stable's lone entry for the UN, and the weather gods were again on his side as the course came up soft. That was bad news for post-time favorite Cougar II, the future Hall of Famer from California, who ultimately struggled in the going. Run the Gantlet relished it, winning by 1 1/2 lengths in a pedestrian time of 2:02 for 1 3/16 miles.

Having benefited from another favorable pull in the weights in the United Nations, Run the Gantlet did not have a similar luxury in his final two starts of the season in the weight-for-age Man o' War S. at Belmont Park and Washington D.C. International at Laurel. But with the heavens open on both days, weight proved no factor at all.

In the Man o' War, Run the Gantlet won by 2 1/4 lengths over Gleaming, who had handed Run the Gantlet a decisive loss in an allowance earlier in the spring. The final time of 2:33 1/5 for 1 1/2 miles reflected the softness of the Belmont turf.

Nine days later, conditions at Laurel for the D.C. International were worse, Charles Hatton describing them as "barbarous...through going like a canal." Proving he could metaphorically swim as well as gallop, Run the Gantlet finished six lengths ahead of Irish Derby winner Irish Ball, though needing 2:50 3/5 to traverse the 12 furlongs. That was more than 26 seconds off the course record set by Kelso seven years earlier.

Post-race comments by Paul Mellon had racing fans, and Laurel management undoubtedly, salivating at the prospect of the 1972 edition of the International. "[Mill Reef] probably would seek a repeat win in the Arc de Triomphe, then, hopefully, he would close out his career in the International," Mellon said. "It would be quite a race: Mill Reef versus Run the Gantlet. I think, maybe, they'd finish in a dead-heat."

In the event, neither colt finished out his four-year-old campaign. After winning the Prix Ganay (G1) and Coronation Cup (G1), Mill Reef suffered a near-fatal injury on the gallops in late summer, but was ultimately saved for stud duty.

By then, Run the Gantlet had all but been retired himself after a brief, enigmatic campaign. He ran twice at Hialeah in March, finishing 10th of 14 in the Bougainvillea H. over firm turf and ninth of 13 in the Widener H. on dirt. And he should have fared much better in the May 13 Dixie H. at Pimlico, which was contested on yielding turf. However, Run the Gantlet was dull that day, too, finishing a distant fourth going 1 1/2 miles.

Not even favored in what turned out to be his final start in the Bowling Green H. at Belmont Park on June 3, 1972, Run the Gantlet this time rose to the occasion, recording a comfortable three-length victory on ground rated firm. Sidelined for the remainder of the summer and fall due to injury, time was ultimately called on his racing career. A controlling interest in Run the Gantlet was sold to Bert Firestone, who exported the colt to stand at Gilltown Stud in Ireland.  

Run the Gantlet's stud career was highlighted by a handful of notables. The one that made the biggest impact in America was the Firestone-owned April Run, the 1982 champion turf mare who captured the Washington D.C. International (G1) and was a two-time winner of the Turf Classic (G1) in New York. She also placed in the Arc and Japan Cup (G1).

Ardross was one of the great stayers of his era, capturing the Gold Cup (G1) at Royal Ascot twice. Commanche Run captured the 1984 St Leger (G1) and two other Group 1s, while Providential won the D.C. International and Swiftfoot the Irish Oaks (G1).

Run the Gantlet was repatriated back to America in the mid-1980s, but died in early 1986 at Sunset Hill Farm, Maryland, at the age of 18. A generally forgotten champion in the midst of a successful era for his owner, Run the Gantlet nonetheless holds the distinction of being the recipient of the first Eclipse Award as America's champion grass horse.