Only special horses get faster as they age, which is exactly what he did. He could seize the lead, push the pace and still have plenty left in the lane, like he did in the Breeders’ Cup, or use his ample speed to escape a horrible post, sit second off a fast opponent, cruise by when he felt like it and hold off the closers, as he did in the Pegasus.

Talk about a horse that didn’t need or dislike one track (Arrogate, Holy Bull…) Gun Runner ran huge anywhere and everywhere. Never run at Gulfstream? Big deal. He flew to Florida to finish his career in style after previously strutting his stuff at Del Mar, twice at Saratoga, Churchill, Dubai and Oaklawn Park. Who does that? Somewhere, Jack Van Berg is smiling.

Great horses make people look good, and that’s what ‘Runner did for trainer Steve Asmussen and assistant Scott Blasi, rehabbing their PETA-stained reputations. As for jockey Florent Geroux, he did what you are supposed to do with great horses - ride with confidence. He made all the right moves with the chestnut colt in all the big races in 2017/18 and was rewarded handsomely for his efforts, establishing himself as a top-tier jock capable of producing under the most intense pressure.

Gun Runner did something else pretty special too; he took on three top-class colts from the Bob Baffert barn and either out-ran (Collected twice, West Coast twice) or out-lasted (Arrogate, who was never the same after putting forth a career performance to run him down in Dubai) them. It appeared in the Pegasus that he might have broken Collected’s spirit in the process, and the jury is out on West Coast. Sadly, Baffert’s reputation/the shadow of Arrogate dimmed his brilliance through most of the summer, but as noted above, he got his revenge on all three in the big $$ races in Nov/Jan. Finally, while Arrogate was done after Dubai, Gun Runner just got better after his huge effort in the desert, something else we haven’t seen much in recent years.

So, with nothing left to prove on the track and more $$ to be earned in the breeding shed, racing’s cycle begins again and Gun Runner goes to stud, looking to imprint his combination of speed and stamina on a whole new generation of runners. Here’s hoping a couple of them step up and do their daddy proud, like he did his.