Amr Zedan has a simple formula. Just listen to Bob Baffert. “Whatever the boss like, we just buy!” the Zedan Stables owner said after they had scored a big win at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale on August 5. Although races are to be fought on the tracks, Baffert and his team’s smiles say it all. The splash they made was worth it. After all, good things in life don’t come cheap. And that also goes for quality thoroughbreds.
Del Mar racing has got Baffert back in the groove. And with the G1 Travers Stakes and the Pacific Classic inching closer, he is raring to go. But before that, he had to take a detour to bolster the roster for Zedan Stables. And it was all about making the headlines.
Fasig-Tipton auction house shared the big news on X on August 6. “Hip 179 c. GUN RUNNER o/o Princesa Carolina sells for $2,900,000 at The Saratoga Sale! Colt is 1/2 to G2 winner/G1 placed Muhimma. Congrats to the connections: B: @DonatoLanni, agt for @ZedanRacing.” And it was retweeted by Zedan Racing Stables, who expressed their happiness after adding the talented colt to their stable. Outbidding American venture capitalist Dave Portnoy, Bob Baffert went all in when the Gun Runner-sired colt came up for auction (catalog number 179).
The pedigree is clearly shown. With 12 wins in 19 starts, the retired 2017 Breeders’ Cup Champion is a hot favorite when bloodstock is being considered. The 12-year-old finished his career with 5 straight wins, all G1 races. That included the 2018 Pegasus World Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The newly acquired colt happens to be the half-sibling of G2 winner Muhimma. The three-year-old filly has also placed at G1 races.
Donato Lanni efficiently orchestrated the bidding, thwarting Portnoy’s earnest ambitions to acquire the grey horse. To be honest, the Gun Runner bloodstock should have been the clue that Baffert would double down on it. It’s all about the Breeders’ Cup and Del Mar for the next couple of months. And the way his Gun Runner colt, Brant, broke the maiden, that too in his debut on July 26, Baffert had to be sold to Gun Runner.
Proud to add this colt to @ZedanRacing stable! https://t.co/hVl1hVl68S
— Zedan Racing Stables, Inc (@ZedanRacing) August 6, 2025
Incidentally, the two-year-old colt was bought only this year in March at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale. And Zedan Stables shelled out a whopping $3 million for the colt. The 5 ¼ ¼-length victory at Del Mar proves Amr Zedan is right. Bob Baffert knows best. Talking to the reporters about the latest $2.9 million purchase, the trainer said, “He’s got a good pedigree and looks fast. We’re happy that we got him. Good horses bring the money, and he looks like a horse with a lot of upside.”
The Zedan Stables and Bob Baffert combination has been mutually beneficial with numerous G1 stakes triumphs. And their partnership will be gunning for more in the coming times.
The winning alliance of Zedan Stables and Bob Baffert that’s been paying out
Brant’s victory on debut turned heads all around. So dominant was the Baffert trainee that he scored a 101 Beyer Speed Figure. As the three-year-old season comes in 2026, we are already stoked for what the Kentucky-bred colt can do at the Kentucky Derby next year. He may just be the prodigy that gives Baffert his historic seventh Derby win. But along with him is Hejazi, who has also impressed at the Del Mar.
Image via Facebook/Horse Racing Nation
The 5-year-old almost got his maiden win at the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes, despite getting only his second run in 18 months. Amr Zedan also has Butane under Baffert’s mentorship. And the 2-year-old has another one to break his maiden on debut. Running the six-furlong dirt race on August 3, the $1.15 million colt clinched a 3½-lengthvictory under the able guidance of jockey Juan Hernandez.
The alliance looks strong and promises some magical moments in the coming future, the precedent of which was set by the past glory they have achieved together. Together, they have produced many G1 Stakes winners like Taiba, who happens to be sired by none other than Gun Runner. There’s Muth, who retired in 2024 after a successful career that saw him win the G1 Arkansas Derby in 2024.
As Amr Zedan said, they have a perfect system. The money from the Saudi tycoon, along with the sporting IQ of Bob Baffert, will keep them dominating the tracks.
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