Unbeaten champion filly Echo Zulu was nothing short of perfection Saturday in her season bow when leading nearly all the way and then fending off a determined challenge to win $400,000 Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) by a nose.
The 1-9 favorite, Echo Zulu won her four previous career starts by a combined 22 lengths and showed her grit down the long Fair Grounds stretch to turn back hard-trying Hidden Connection and score by the slimmest margin. Favor was up for third.
Echo Zulu, with Joel Rosario aboard for trainer Steve Asmussen, finished 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.69 for her fifth win from as many starts.
The Fair Grounds Oaks serves as a major prep for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) May 6 and rewards points on a 100-40-20-10 scale. Echo Zulu came into the Fair Grounds Oaks with 30 points earned in her wins in the Frizette Stakes (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). She tops the Oaks leaderboard with 130 points.
Updated Kentucky Derby/Oaks leaderboard
Since making her debut last summer at Saratoga, the Gun Runner filly has never disappointed owners L & N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds, the latter winning the next race on the Fair Grounds card, the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) with Epicenter. Her undefeated juvenile campaign included a trio of Grade 1 wins, capped by Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, in which Hidden Connection was fourth.
“She barely made the race and barely won the race, right?” Asmussen said. “I can't say enough about how proud I am. Her 2-year-old season, three grade one wins asked a lot of her. We gave her a very necessary break. She came back in looking well and she proved narrowly best today. It was a very emotional win because of how much the filly means to us. It was a beautiful win with her at the Fair Grounds. The surface got her in this position. We will head to Churchill to prepare for the next one (Kentucky Oaks) on Monday.”
Rosario said she got a little tired.
“But she got the job done,” he said. “She's a tremendous horse. She's a fighter and she likes to run.”
Bret Calhoun, trainer of Hidden Connection, said: “Tip your hat to Echo Zulu, she was coming off a layoff and I thought we had a little advantage on her. I was hoping she'd have to deal with a little more pace pressure than what she did. I thought (jockey) Reylu (Gutierrez) was forced to move a little early and wide (on Hidden Connection) to give her a chance to win. And she did everything but win.”
“Obviously today was the day to catch her (Echo Zulu) and I think she will move way forward from here. We just got to regroup, get with the ownership group and find out which direction we are going to go.”
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