Over the past two years, while stablemate Coastal Mission has zoomed to the head of the class of older West Virginia-breds, Muad’dib, once the dominant force among state-bred boys, has continued to run successfully for trainer Jeff Runco and owner David Raim.

Earlier this fall, though he’s ceded the limelight to his younger teammate, he quietly passed a significant earnings plateau. And this weekend, he put the exclamation mark on that achievement.

Last Friday night at Charles Town, Muad’dib rallied from well off the pace and widest of all to capture a two-turn allowance for state-breds as the 3-5 favorite with new regular pilot Angel Cruz aboard by getting the seven furlongs in 1:26.65. The win came just about a month after he had rallied inside late to finish second in the $75,000 Randy Funkhouser Memorial, which enabled him to inch past the $1 million plateau in career earnings.

All told, Muad’dib has 17 wins from 29 career starts and $1,016,793 in career earnings.

In both 2021 and 2022, Muad’dib had been the dominant force among state-breds, winning his first 10 starts before finally tasting defeat when second to Art Collector in the 2022 Grade 2, $1 million Charles Town Classic.

“I can’t think of a better way to end the year,” owner David Raim said of Muad’dib’s allowance victory on Friday the 13th. “He got off to a bad start, got squeezed a little bit then he had to race very wide on both turns. Honestly, I didn’t think he was going to win and Jeff didn’t think he was going to win. But he finished really well. He didn’t show any signs of being too old to run anymore.”

A seven-year-old son of Fiber Sonde and full-brother to Late Night Pow Wow and Duncan Idaho, Muad’dib concluded his 2024 campaign with three wins and nearly $120,000 banked from nine seasonal tries. All three of his wins in 2024 came at the allowance level; he has not won a stake since capturing the 2022 edition of the Randy Funkhouser Memorial, which came on the heels of his second consecutive triumph in the now-Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders Classic.

“Those two years [2021 & 2022] where he was winning the West Virginia Breeders Classics and second in the Charles Town Classic were incredible,” Raim recalled. “I never expected I would own a horse like him, and I suspect I will never own another one like him.”

Perhaps not, but Raim also said he and Runco aren’t quite ready to see the sun set on their aging star.

“He had a good season,” Raim said. “He’s just not the horse that he used to be. He’s aged a little, but Jeff thinks he can do well next year as an eight-year-old. He’s never going to be entered in a claiming race, so when he’s ready to retire he’ll tell us. He’s always going to have a home after he retires.”

Coastal Mission, owned and trained by Runco, also eclipsed the $1 million plateau in career earnings this year thanks to victories in the Grade 3, $250,000 Forty Niner Stakes at Aqueduct and the $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile.

But shed no tears for Raim, who has also watched two of his other runners, both confirmed one-turn sprint specialists, enjoy very good campaigns.

Duncan Idaho, a four-year-old Fiber Sonde gelding and younger full-brother to both Muad’dib and Late Night Pow Wow, has emerged as one of the best one-turn sprint specialists on the grounds over the past two years for Raim and Runco. He won four of seven starts and earned over $130,000 in 2024, capped by a victory in the $75,000 West Virginia Dash For Cash BC. He now owns 10 wins and over $245,000 banked from 17 career tries.

Another veteran in Raim’s colors and Runco’s barn is Penguin Power. He won only once in seven seasonal outings, but that was an upset score in the $40,000 Last Enchantment Overnight Stakes in August. A durable and versatile sort with stakes wins traveling one, two and three turns over the local strip, Penguin Power owns a solid 20-8-9 slate and over $620,000 banked from 44 career tries and has won WV Breeders Classics races five times: three Onion Juice wins and two in the Dash for Cash.

Raim said Penguin Power is expected to return next season at age 10.

“Penguin Power is getting up there, but as long as he can compete at that level Jeff intends to keep running him,” Raim said. “When it’s time, he’ll let us know. He’s been a tremendous horse over the years. Duncan Idaho has really come along. He’s a lot different from Muad’dib, because his strength is in those one-turn sprint races. But he’s been another really good member of that family. Seeing him win on Classics night was special.”

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