Three of the Kentucky Derby Week equestrian stars were on Churchill Downs belt.
Epicenter and Zozos 1 to 2 finishers from Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), and Echo Zulu winners of Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), arriving on March 29 after traveling from Louisiana, where they raced on March 26. They slept in their stall in Churchill, where trainers Their division holds some of their best horses.
Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen coaches Epicenter and Echo Zulu, among the favorites for the May 7 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and the May 6 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). Winchell Thoroughbreds owns Epicenter and co-owns Echo Zulu with L and N Racing.
Brad Cox, Eclipse Award-winning trainer for the past two years, conditions Zozos for owners/raiders Barry and Joni Butzow.
Assistant Coach Blake Cox leads Zozos around Brad Cox’s barn at Churchill Downs
Epicenter tops the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 164 points, while Zozos has 40, a number that’s often enough to qualify for the 20-horse Derby. Churchill Downs uses qualifying points as a preference system when a 1/4 mile race is oversubscribed.
Last year’s 2 year old champion, Echo Zulu topped the table leading the Kentucky Oaks 1 1/8 mile with 130 points. She got 100 points thanks to her defiance Hidden connection nose in Fair Grounds Oaks.
The latter is also expected to train at Churchill Downs in the coming weeks for trainer Bret Calhoun while leading the Oaks.
