Tag: Breeders’ Cup

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Zulu outdueled the reigning champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive and drew off to a 2 1/2-length score in Saturday's Ballerina Handicap (G1), a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and piloted by Florent Geroux, the 4-year-old Gun Runner bay punched a “Win and You're In” ticket to the $1-million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park.

The victory was the second top-level win on the card for a horse trained by Asmussen and sired by his Winchell-campaigned 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner after Gunite took the Forego (G1) in gate-to-wire fashion under Tyler Gaffalione.

Echo Zulu entered from an eye-opening victory in theHonorable Miss Handicap (G2) on July 26 here that garnered a career-best 112 Beyer Speed Figure.

Asmussen said he felt cautiously optimistic his filly could turn the tables on Goodnight Olive after finishing second to that rival in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint to close out her sophomore season in November at Keeneland.

“Someone asked me, 'How do you see it?' and I said, 'Well I assure you that we have respect for each other.' That's how it ought to be. That's what makes these races so great,” Asmussen said. “The development that she has shown is so much like her father Gun Runner. The longer you had him, the faster he was and that's how she's been. As great as she ran in the Honorable Miss and coming out of her first triple-digit Beyer, your confidence was it was a prep. She's 4-for-4 here at Saratoga and has another Grade 1 win on her resume. Obviously, she's as fast as a horse can go.

“Poor Gunite has had to work with her the majority of his life and we know who he is,” added Asmussen. “So if she's not scared of Gunite, I don't know who else would be out there to worry about.”

Goodnight Olive, who won this event last year en route to year-end honors, broke alertly from post 6 under Irad Ortiz Jr. and raced to the outside of Echo Zulu, who marked the opening quarter-mile in :22.45 seconds over the muddy and sealed track with multiple Grade 1-winner Matareya saving ground in third and Dr B in fourth.

Echo Zulu held a narrow advantage through a half-mile in :45.23 with last year's Ballerina runner-up Caramel Swirl making an outside move and Matareya advancing on the rail. But a determined Echo Zulu responded well when asked by Geroux at the head of the lane and put away Goodnight Olive inside the final furlong, stopping the clock in a final time of 1:20.95

Goodnight Olive completed the exacta by 6 1/4-lengths over Matareya with Caramel Swirl, Dr B, Sterling Silver and Maryquitecontrary rounding out the order of finish. Wicked Halo was scratched.

Geroux said he felt confident throughout.

“She was picking it up nicely when I asked her to. Felt like I was in control pretty much all the way through the race, and when I asked her turning for home, she gave me this other gear,” Geroux said. “She's amazing. I'm just very grateful for the opportunity the owners and Steve Asmussen have given me to ride her. She's a champion and I'm just the lucky pilot.”

Ortiz, the Spa's leading rider, tipped his cap to the winner.

We had a beautiful trip. No excuses. It was a perfect trip, we were just second best,” Ortiz said.

Echo Zulu graduated on debut here in July 2021 and captured the Spa's Spinaway (G1) in her next start. She completed a perfect juvenile season with Grade 1 scores in the Frizette at Belmont Park and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar to earn honors as champion 2-year-old filly.

Last year, she captured the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks before her only career off-the-board effort when fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Echo Zulu exited that effort to win the Grade 3 Dogwood at Churchill but was a distant second to Goodnight Olive in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Echo Zulu is perfect in three starts this year, taking the Winning Colors (G3) in May at Churchill ahead of her 7 1/4-length romp in the Honorable Miss.“Obviously her prep race for this race she ran phenomenal,” said winning co-owner Ron Winchell. “We were expecting a little bit of the same. They pressured her early and she found another gear, which is what we were hoping would happen, and pulled away. So it was pretty nice, it doesn't always work out how you plan it, and that's how it came out today.”

Bred in Kentucky by Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby, Echo Zulu was a $300,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She banked $275,000 in victory while improving her record to 11-9-1-0 and returned $3.20 for a $2 win bet.

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Tragedy unfolded in the closing stages of the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) for 3-year-old sprinters Saturday at Saratoga Race Course when favorite New York Thunder appeared en route to a clear victory but fell near the sixteenths pole. The Nyquist colt suffered a catastrophic injury to his left front fetlock and was euthanized on the track.

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione was on his feet and walked to an ambulance, visited first aid and was uninjured.

With the undefeated colt down, One in Vermillion ($41.40) went on to the token victory in the seven-furlong race.

Entering with four wins from as many career starts, including the Amsterdam (G2) July 29 at the Spa in his most recent start, New York Thunder was the 3-2 favorite. He sprinted from the gate to the early lead and opened a five-length advantage in early stretch. The son of Nyquist out of the Midshipman mare Start Over was trained by Jorge Delgado for AMO USA Racing. He was bred in Kentucky by Gatewood Bell and Forgotten Land Investments Inc.

New York Thunder was the second fatality on the Travers Day card. Qatar Racing's Irish-bred Nobel, making his U.S. debut for trainer Brendan Walsh, suffered a catastrophic injury while galloping out after the fifth race, an allowance contest, run over turf course rated “good.”

Eight horses have suffered fatal injuries while racing during the current Saratoga meet, with another four fatally injured while training.

In the Jerkens Memorial, One in Vermillion raced far off the pace at the rear of the field down the backstretch and made a strong sustained run under Irad Ortiz Jr. to pass rivals entering the stretch, winning in a final time of 1:22.63 at odds of 19-1 for trainer Esteban “Steve” Martinez's first career graded stakes victory.

Verifying finished second, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Arabian Lion. Fort Bragg and Drew's Gold completing the order of finish.

Jonathan Kalman's One in Vermillion, a California-bred son of Army Mule out of the Any Given Sunday mare Given Star, entered from a third-place finish in the West Virginia Derby(G3) on August 6 at Mountaineer, and has now finished in-the-money in each of his last six starts.

The post Favorite New York Thunder Suffers Fatal Breakdown In Jerkens Memorial appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Gunite turned the tables on familiar rival Elite Power when defeating the reigning champion male sprinter in a tour de force performance in the $500,000 Forego (G1) Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

Second to Elite Power in an epic duel in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) July 29 at the Spa, Gunite was too strong Saturday when leading at every point of call, shaking off an inside challenge from his foe in the stretch, and drawing off for a 1/3/4-length victory under Tyler Gaffalione.

Gunite returned $4.60 after covering the seven furlongs for 4-year-olds and older in 1:21.53. While pursued by Pipeline, Gunite clocked early fractions of :23.16 for the opening quarter mile and :46.20 for the half before shaking off Elite Power, who tracked from third before challenging in the stretch,  and cruising clear for the win.

High Oak finished third, four lengths behind stablemate Elite Power, the 3-5 favorite.

A Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred trained by Steve Asmussen, Gunite added a second Grade 1 win to his record after taking the 2021 Hopeful, also at seven furlongs. Overall, the 4-year-old Gun Runner colt out of the Cowboy Cal mare Simple Surprise has a 9-6-2 record from 19 career starts.

Forego Quotes

Steve Asmussen, winning trainer of Gunite (No. 2, $4.60): “Gunite is just a very special horse to race at the level he has for as long as he has and do it consistently. It was a very tough defeat for him in the Vanderbilt and for him to not blink an eye, come back and lay it down again today just proves what a special horse he actually is.

“Elite Power is a great champion. I can't say how much I respect him, being by the unbelievable Curlin. But Gunite has seen good horses and he doesn't blink. That's what makes him so special. He came out of the box trying to prove who Gun Runner was as a 2-year-old, had six runs as a 2-year-old, two of them were here, and he's still winning Grade 1s at 4. Those horses are hard to come by right now.

“The horse gives us a tremendous amount of confidence. Tough defeat in the Vanderbilt, but the next day all he wanted was another chance at him. Today was his chance and he proved how truly good he is.

“Seven-eighths is probably his distance. His other Grade 1 win was the Hopeful which was seven-eighths of a mile. Yes, he can three-quarters and yes, he can mile, but seven-eighths is ideal for him.

“It's amazing what Gun Runner is as a sire. It brings back great memories. His summer here winning the Whitney and the Woodward was just magnificent. For us to be so blessed to get to have multiple Gun Runners. We have three Grade 1 contenders and all three are Gun Runners.”

On training up to Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint: “He likes racing. He's never been a flashy trainer. I believe he'll need another race.”

Ron Winchell of winning owner Winchell Thoroughbreds of Gunite (No. 2): “Very redeeming. Obviously, we came up a little short in the last one after having the lead. So this was definitely redeeming from the last race. I think he's getting better over time. With the Gun Runners, like you see with Echo Zulu also, their last few races just seem to be getting better and better as they get older.”

Tyler Gaffalione, winning jockey aboard Gunite (No. 2): “He broke alertly, put himself in a good spot. The difference between today and last time was, going the three quarters, you've got to use him a little more than you'd like to. Seven-eighths suits him a little bit better. He's a big colt, just let him get into his stride and let him do his thing.”

On riding against Elite Power: “You try to just ride your own horses, but these kind of races against this group of quality, you've got to pay attention [to] who you're running against.”

On Gunite's response in the stretch: “I slapped him on the shoulder, threw him his head, and he exploded. Especially after he switched leads late, he found another gear.

“I think [last time] I used him a little too much early on and I wanted to get a little bit of separation coming into the stretch last time, might've cost us a bit. He definitely made up for it today. He's such a tremendous horse. All the credit goes to Steve and his team.”

On his trip last time: “There wasn't a lot of pace. I was drawn outside of Elite Power that day so I wanted to kind of keep him bottled up. My horse didn't really get underneath himself until we got him to the three-eighths pole, and it's not like I can take a hold there.”

Bill Mott, trainer of runner-up and beaten favorite Elite Power (No. 3) and third-place High Oak (No. 1): “Maybe I've seen him [Elite Power] run a little better before, but I can't give any big excuse. We gave the winner six pounds, I don't know if that's enough to use as an excuse.”

On if Elite Power will have another race before the Breeders' Cup Sprint: “Probably not.”

On High Oak [No. 1]: “It was a short field and Lee [Einsidler, co-owner] wanted to take a shot at it and the horse ran well. He justified being in there.”

Katie Davis, jockey of third-place High Oak (No. 1): “It was just a very patient ride. There was a lot of speed in the race, so turning for home he was really engaged and it was something you really wanted to see in him after these last couple of races. He's changed completely and we're looking forward to moving forward with him. He tried his heart out and I couldn't ask for anything else.”

Winning margin: 1 3/4 lengths

Final time (seven furlongs): 1:21.53

Fractions: 23.16, 46.20, 1:09.67

Full order of finish: 2-3-1-4-5

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