With Muad’dib retired, full brother Duncan Idaho still going strong
Now 2-for-2 this year
Ted Black
June 30, 2026
While his older, millionaire full-brother Muad’dib recently retired, six-year-old Duncan Idaho appears to be in peak form and still a ways away from calling it a career.
In fact, following his gritty, narrow victory in a one-turn allowance June 12 for trainer Jeff Runco and owner David Raim, he might be better than ever.
One night before Muad’dib would make the final start of his career when ninth in the $75,000 Confucius Say Stakes for older West Virginia-breds, Duncan Idaho notched his second victory in as many starts this season when he wore down Honeyquist for a game score while stopping the timer in 50.51 for the 4 1/2 furlongs. Only a handful of runners, including Immortal Eyes (50.09), Outcashem (50.20) and It’s Only Money (50.36), have recorded faster clockings for the one-turn dash.
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Although they are full brothers — both by Fiber Sonde out of the late Indian Charlie mare Holy Pow Wow and bred by the late John McKee — Duncan Idaho and Muad’dib certainly followed different paths to success on the track. Muad’dib was the dominant two-turn and three-turn state-bred older male during his prime, winning 12 of his first 13 races, including two editions of the West Virginia Classic, and running second in the Grade 2, $1 million Charles Town Classic behind Art Collector.
Muad’dib concluded his career at age nine with an 18-7-6 slate and nearly $1.13 million banked from 42 lifetime outings. He opened the season with an allowance victory on Jan. 9 at Charles Town, but his last stakes triumph occurred back in the 2022 $75,000 Randy Funkhouser Memorial. In all, he won five stakes and was second in four others, including the 2022 Charles Town Classic.
Duncan Idaho, on the other hand, has done his best work in one-turn dashes.
He posted his second straight score to start the season on June 12 seven weeks after capturing the $75,000 It’s Only Money Stakes for a third straight year. He now sports 17 wins, including five stakes, with lifetime earnings of nearly $450,000 from 25 career outings. Duncan Idaho has never competed outside of Charles Town, but his connections said that could change soon.
“There really are not a lot of spots for him [at Charles Town], so we’ve talked about trying him on the grass at Colonial Downs,” said Runco, who likely will reach the 5,000-win plateau next year. “He’s got plenty of natural early speed, and I think a turf sprint at Colonial Downs would be ideal for him. But he really only has limited races here. He will definitely be in the last couple of the 4 ½-furlong stakes.”
Although his determined victory in the one-turn allowance dash on June 12 did not occur in a stake, it proved moderately historic in one aspect. Duncan Idaho provided Raim with his 250th victory as an owner, a milestone that the owner never conceived possible when he first got involved as an owner when partnering on horse with the late R. Larry Johnson.
“Muad’dib was a great horse,” Raim said on the Midlantic Racing Today Charles Town podcast. “I never expected to own a horse like him. Duncan Idaho is also a great horse. You know, if it were not for this breathing issue that he’s always had, he may have turned out to be even better. But he loves the 4 1/2-furlong races at Charles Town. The whole key for him is the break. When he breaks well and can be right off the lead he is going to be tough to beat. Honeyquist is also a really nice horse and that was quite a battle those two had last week.”
In that contest, the Anthony Farrior-trained Honeyquist zipped to the early lead and threw down punishing fractions with Duncan Idaho in closest attendance. Duncan Idaho wore his rival down in the lane to win by a neck, with the rest of the field well behind.
Duncan Idaho won five of six starts last year en route to being named the champion West Virginia-bred sprinter for 2025, with his lone blemish a fourth-place effort in the West Virginia Dash For Cash Breeders’ Classic won by Time to Rock. So far this year, he’s 2-for-2. Overall, Duncan Idaho sports five stakes victories — coincidentally matching the sum attained by his older brother Muad’dib — with three of them occurring in consecutive editions of the It’s Only Money Stakes.
“I think [a turf sprint at Colonial Downs] would be a nice fit for him,” Raim said. “He’s always had speed and I think five furlongs on the grass would be ideal for him. He’s never going to run beyond [5 or 5 ½] furlongs anywhere. His breathing issue is just not going to allow that. But he’s really good right now, so hopefully he’ll find another open allowance or a small stakes somewhere before his next stakes race at Charles Town.”
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