Mercante (USA) Horse
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About
Mercante is a 6yo dark bay/brown gelding from the United States, trained by Brian Knippenberg. He is by Gun Runner out of Caressing and has recorded five wins so far. On March 23, 2025, at Turfway Park, Mercante earned his most notable victory in the $300,000 Twinspires Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes. He has proven to be a profitable runner for bettors, delivering a 37% return on investment for those who backed him throughout his career.
Race Record
| Event Summary | Runner Stats | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Ellis Park 03-Aug-26 1710m R10 Green River Island S. presented by Sterling Industrial (Stakes) (of $429,062) Barrier 12, Winning Time: 01:40.310, SP: 5.50 bumped with an inner foe at the start, rushed forward outside of foes into the first turn, tucked to press two wide around that bend, prompted between horses down the backstretch, sustained pressure before bidding along with an outer rival in upper stretch, but got outkicked at the furlong grounds then yielded between horses in the final sixteenth. 1st Brilliant Berti ( B J H Jr 122 ) 2nd Native Runner ( C A Torres 122 ) 1.75L 3rd Giocoso ( J Graham 124 ) 2.50L 6th Mercante ( F Geroux 122 ) 3.35L See full results | F Geroux 55.3kg 3.35L | 6 (12) |
| Churchill Downs 28-Jun-26 1710m R10 Wise Dan Stakes (Stakes) $145,033 (of $725,163) Barrier 3, Winning Time: 01:41.680, SP: 11.00 pressed two wide, chased the clear leader around the far turn, pursued in the four path into the lane, got floated to the seven path whlie sustaining pursuit into the final furlong, ran on to duel for place with an inner rival alate and edged that position. 1st Lagynos ( J Ortiz 120 ) 2nd Mercante ( F Geroux 118 ) 0.75L 3rd Dresden Row ( I O Jr 118 ) 0.50L See full results | F Geroux 53.5kg 0.75L | 2 (9) |
| Churchill Downs 03-May-26 1811m FIRM R11 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic Stakes (Stakes) $60,150 (of $2,082,755) Barrier 5, Winning Time: 01:45.960, SP: 17.00 brushed with an outer foe at the start, stalked three wide and between horses, pursued two wide around the far turn then yielded among foes entering the lane. 1st Rhetorical ( I O Jr 123 ) 2nd Make Me King ( J Ortiz 123 ) 3.25L 3rd Corruption ( J Velazquez 123 ) 3.50L 5th Mercante ( J Ramos 123 ) 8.50L See full results | J Ramos 55.8kg 8.50L | 5 (9) |
| Turfway Park 22-Mar-26 1811m R10 TwinSpires Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes (Stakes) $85,191 (of $425,955) Barrier 9, Winning Time: 01:50.880, SP: 4.33 pressed two wide early on, backed off to allow outer rivals to take that position nearing the five furlong pole, stalked from the two path into and around the turn, tipped to the three path to take aim on the leader in upper stretch, sustained his challenge through the final furlong but was fended off. 1st Willy D's ( J Velazquez 120 ) 2nd Mercante ( W Rodriguez 120 ) 0.75L 3rd Honor Marie ( J Ramos 122 ) 1.50L See full results | W Rodriguez 54.4kg 0.75L | 2 (9) |
| Churchill Downs 09-Nov-25 1810m R11 River City Stakes (Stakes) $39,285 (of $462,179) Barrier 7, Winning Time: 01:45.580, SP: 15.00 was bumped between horses leaving the gate, laid off of the pace two to three wide, then four wide around the far turn before fanning to the seven path into the lane, yet rallied willingly to reach a share of show at the wire. 1st Wolfie's Dynaghost ( L Saez 121 ) 2nd Taking Candy ( A Concepcion 123 ) 2.75L 3rd Mercante ( J Ramos 125 ) 0.00L See full results | J Ramos 56.7kg 0.00L | 3 (11) |