September, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

No Doubt Echo Zulu Best in Spinaway

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) became her freshman sire's first Grade I winner, third graded winner overall–and his second of the upstate meet–with a wire-to-wire victory in the GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga Sunday.

“I can't measure how much I wanted to have Gun Runner's first Grade I winner,” admitted Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who also conditioned the 2017 Horse of the Year. “Everything he did for the barn, he's obviously a tremendous sire and somebody had to be first, but I'm glad it was us.”

Sent off the 3-5 favorite, Echo Zulu was off half-a-step slowly and rushed up to take the early. She was in front while pressed by longshot Benbang (Shanghai Bobby) through a quarter in :22.07 and a half in :44.73. She put that foe away nearing the stretch and quickly opened up on the field before sailing under the wire an unchallenged four-length winner.

“At the top of the stretch, you're looking at :44 for the half and thinking how does she stay up? But she found another gear and finished up in 1:22 on a pretty slow track today,” said co-owner Michael Levinson, whose L and N Racing also campaigned the winner's half-brother Echo Town (Speightstown), who captured last year's GI H. Allen Jerkens S. “This was absolutely incredible. To win back-to-back Grade I races with two horses from the same family is incredible.”

Echo Zulu was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following a dominating 5 1/2-length debut victory in her 5 1/2-furlong unveiling at Saratoga July 15.

“It was a huge jump. We prepared her like a first-time starter at Saratoga to run,” Asmussen, winning his fourth Grade I of the Saratoga meet, said. “She responded and ran well and that was a long time ago going five and a half against different horses. To jump from maidens to a Grade I off one run in a race with everything going your way is not easy. It takes a special horse to do it and maybe that's what she is. She is all class and training her, she'll go as easy as you want her to go and picks it up when asked. She's not been in a hurry for a filly that's as fast as she is.”

Asked if the Oct. 3 GI Frizette S., a Win and You're In race for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, could be next for Echo Zulu, Asmussen said, “That looked like it would translate to the Frizette pretty good to me and that would hopefully be the bridge [to the Breeders' Cup]. To suggest what she can't do right now would probably be a mistake.”

Pedigree Notes:

Gun Runner was represented earlier in the Saratoga meet by GII Adirondack S. winner Wicked Halo and by GII Saratoga Special runner-up Gunite. His Pappacap, winner of the GII Best Pal S., goes postward in Monday's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity.

Echo Zulu is the second Saratoga Grade I winner for her dam Letgomyecho, who also produced GI H. Allen Jerkens S. winner Echo Town (Speigthstown). Echo Zulu is also a half-sister to 2017 GIII Gotham S. winner J Boys Echo (Mineshaft).

Winner of the 2005 GII Stonerside Forward Gal S., Letgomyecho is also the dam of Distorted Echo (Distorted Humor), who produced multiple stakes placed Deputy's Echo (Badge of Silver), and Repeat (Bernardini), who produced graded placed Shooters Shoot (Competitive Edge).

Purchased for $135,000 at the 2011 Keeneland November sale, Letgomyecho has a yearling filly by American Pharoah.

Sunday, Saratoga
SPINAWAY S.-GI, $300,000, Saratoga, 9-5, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:22.51, gd.
1–ECHO ZULU, 120, f, 2, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Letgomyecho (GSW, $136,200), by Menifee
                2nd Dam: Echo Echo Echo, by Eastern Echo
                3rd Dam: Kashie West, by Sir Ivor
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
   WIN. 'TDN Rising Star' ($300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-L and N
Racing LLC & Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Betz/J. Betz/
Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby (KY); T-Steven
Asmussen; J-Ricardo Santana, Jr. $165,000. Lifetime
Record: 2-2-0-0, $220,000. *1/2 to Unbridled Outlaw
(Unbridled's Song), GSP, $253,478; J Boys Echo (Mineshaft),
GSW, $377,543; and Echo Town (Speightstown), GISW,
$410,020. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk
   Nick Rating A+.
2–Tarabi, 120, f, 2, by First Samurai
                1st Dam: Indian Bay, by Indian Charlie
                2nd Dam: Buy the Barrel, by E Dubai
                3rd Dam: Affordable Price, by Drouilly (Fr)
($240,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-LBD Stable LLC, Manganaro
Bloodstock & David Ingordo; B-Hinkle Farms (KY); T-Cherie
DeVaux. $60,000.
3–Saucy Lady T, 120, f, 2, by Tonalist
        1st Dam: Fila Primera (SW & GSP, $138,455), by War Front
        2nd Dam: Southern Strike, by Smart Strike
        3rd Dam: Promenade Colony, by Pleasant Colony
($5,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-James Chapman & Stuart
Tsujimoto; B-R. S. Evans (KY); T-James K. Chapman. $36,000.
Margins: 4, 3 3/4, 4 3/4. Odds: 0.65, 19.00, 28.75.
Also Ran: Sequist, Dream Lith, Benbang, Sue Ellen Mishkin, Girl With a Dream, Pretty Birdie. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Adventuring Finds Winner’s Circle In Dueling Grounds Oaks

Once around the undulating course at Kentucky Downs, Adventuring braved the yielding ground and a field of six others to find the winner's circle in the $500,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks. In making nearly post a winning one, the 3-year-old daughter of Pioneerof the Nile gave jockey Joel Rosario his fourth win on the first day of racing at the Franklin, Ky., track.

Adventuring and Serene, both owned by Godolphin, broke fastest, with Rosario putting his filly on the lead as James Graham on Serene was content to take up third positon, with Oliviaofthedesert in second. Adventuring held onto the lead for much of the race, setting a manageable pace of :26.10 for the first quarter, :51.49 for the half-mile, and 1:16.89 for six furlongs. Rosario gave the filly a breather about halfway through the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Ground Oaks, allowing Oliviaofthedesert to briefly take over the front as they approached the final bend. Entering the long Kentucky Downs stretch, Rosario easily put Adventuring back on the lead, with Oliviaofthedesert and Serene still second and third.

Down the stretch, Adventuring was able to hold on to her lead on the outside despite challenges from Viburnum and Oliviaofthedesert. She crossed the wire two lengths in front, with Viburnum, Oliviaofthedesert, and Inthewinnerscircle rounding out the top four.

The final time for the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Oaks was 2:12.33. Find this race's chart here.

Adventuring paid $4.20, $2.80, and $2.60. Viburnum paid $13.80 and $8.20. Oliviaofthedesert paid $6.00.

Bred in Kentucky by her owner, Adventuring is out of Hard Spun mare Questing. She is trained by Brad Cox. With her win in the Oaks, she improves to three wins in eight lifetime starts.

The post Adventuring Finds Winner’s Circle In Dueling Grounds Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Koriner Will Aim Joker Boy For Golden State Juvenile At Del Mar

Trainer Brian Koriner reported that Joker Boy, winner of Saturday's I'm Smokin' Stakes for California-breds came out of the race in good shape and will be aimed for the Golden State Juvenile Stakes on the Breeders' Cup undercard here Friday, November 5.

Billed as “Future Stars Friday,” the five $1-$2 million Breeders' Cup races will be preceded by four stakes with purses of either $175,000 or $200,000. The $175,000 Golden State Juvenile Stakes at seven furlongs is an eighth of a mile longer than the $100,000 I'm Smokin' which Joker Boy negotiated wire-to-wire in winning by 3 ½ lengths.

“We may run him once at Santa Anita before that,” Koriner said. “We're just going to go day by day and let the horse tell us what to do.”

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Miller Contemplates Next Start For None Above The Law

Peter Miller looked down the shedrow and smiled approvingly as one of his young sons was petted None Above the Law, the versatile 3-year-old California-bred who had pulled off a 10-1 upset in Saturday's $250,000 Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“He looks great, he's happy, he feels good, he's a cool head,” Miller said, referring to the horse.

None Above the Law raced three times at the meeting, finishing ninth, beaten only three lengths in the opening day Oceanside Stakes at a mile on turf on July 16, winning the Real Good Deal Stakes at seven furlongs on dirt on July 30 and then prevailing by three-quarters of a length in the 1 1/8-mile Derby when guided along the rail in the stretch by jockey Joe Bravo.

None Above the Law was the second Miller trainee to win two stakes at a summer meeting. He saddled Red Outlaw to win the Real Good Deal and El Cajon in 2014.

“I do remember Red Outlaw,” Miller said. “A real nice horse that ran for Blinkers On Stable. To win the Real Good Deal and the Del Mar Derby (as None Above the Law did) – I don't think that double has been done before.”

The win boosted None Above the Law's career earnings to $454,060, a number that Miller would like to enhance during the fall meeting here, via an undercard stakes during the Breeders' Cup days of November 5-6 or one of the Bing Crosby season stakes that follow.

“I don't know what they have on the undercard, I haven't checked but I know the Hollywood Derby in the fall would be a possibility. We'd like to keep him with 3-year-olds. I just don't think he's quite up to Breeders' Cup capabilities at this point.”

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