Echo Zulu the 2-year-old young champion of 2021, may have seen her last race in two turns.
David Fiske, racing director of Winchell Thoroughbreds, said the daughter of Gunman who finished the fourth game in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), which will be shown on June 11 Acorn Stakes (G1) a mile a turn on June 11 at Belmont Park and will likely finish the year in sprint races.
“Acorn will probably be next and I suspect she may never see a two-turn race again,” Fiske said of the 3-year-old dog who is owned by L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds and trained. by Steve Asmussen. “I don’t think we want to put her in the Alabama Stakes (G1) or the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1). She could go 1/16 mile lap in Belmont. That wouldn’t be out of range. But Acorn, (Longines) Test Stakes (G1), Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) are likely races for her.”
Echo Zulu was a perfect 5 against the Kentucky Oaks. Only the second run since her Nov. 5 win in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Underage (G1). She hit the speed of Yugiri in Run for the Lillies and briefly led the final round before finishing fourth, three races behind Secret Vow .
“If you have a 2-year-old champion and she’s fine, you go to the Oaks,” Fiske said. “You give her a chance to show who she is. There are plenty of reasons to go, but her powerful suit probably only requires a sprint.”
The Echo Zulu, bred by Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby, was purchased by Winchell for $300,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and made $1,776,875.
Winchell’s Epicenter who is second after the 80-1 shot Rich Strike in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), there is still a chance for the Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 21, as long as he continues to show positive signs during practice for the second leg. about the Triple Crown.
“Epicenter will return to the track at Churchill Downs Wednesday, “Fiske talks about the son of Not this time 4-1 favorite for Asmussen in the May 6 Run for the Roses. “He looks great at the moment, but we’ll see what his energy levels are like when he returns. race track and make decisions. If he was in Preakness he would probably be the most popular. I don’t know who else would be.
“It wasn’t the result we expected in the Derby and the Oaks but the horses ran the way they were supposed to and they came back well. They didn’t lose much in the defeat.”
Rich Strike, Epicenter and Simplify fourth place, are the candidates most likely to run for both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
