Steve Asmussen | Horse Racing Free Tips

Impressive Juvenile Winner Echo Zulu Earns 92 Beyer At Saratoga

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Zulu asserted herself as a rising star with a 5 ½-length debut triumph in a maiden special weight on Opening Day at Saratoga for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

The 2-year-old daughter of leading freshman stallion and 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, who also was trained by Asmussen and owned by Winchell, tracked mutuel favorite Lady Scarlet from second, taking the lead in upper stretch and powering home impressively to register a 92 Beyer for the 5 1/2-furlong contest.

David Fiske, bloodstock and racing advisor to co-owner Ron Winchell, said that both the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack on Aug. 8 or the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on Sept. 5 could be in play for Echo Zulu.

“I can imagine she'll run back in a stake somewhere,” Fiske said. “Whether that's the Adirondack or the Spinaway, it just depends on how she trains and how she comes out of this.”

Echo Zulu, a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Echo Town and graded stakes winner J Boys Echo, gave her sire an eighth winner in his first crop. Five of his eight winners are owned by Winchell.

“The assessment on most of the Gun Runners is that they don't have a lot of early gate speed, but they will keep running,” Fiske said. “Everyone has been excited that distance will be where they really start to excel. The performance yesterday was good. She left the gate running, going around the turn laying second. All the other Gun Runners we've had don't have a lot of quit in them. To open up by five and run such a high Beyer was just icing on the cake.”

Asmussen, a three-time winner of the Adirondack, teamed up with Ron Winchell to capture the 2015 edition with Just Wicked.

Echo Zulu, a $300,000 purchase from the Betz Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of black type producer and graded stakes winner Letgomyecho.

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Racing Insights for July 17

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

5th-SAR, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 3:23 p.m. ET

Annette Allen and Helen Alexander's Montauk Point (Violence) makes his first start for the Shug McGaughey barn here. The $550,000 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase grad–the priciest yearling by his Hill 'n' Dale sire to sell last season–is half to none other than 2019 GI Test S. and GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint heroine Covfefe (Into Mischief), who garnered both champion 3-year-old filly and champion female sprinter honors for that campaign. The chestnut hails from the uber deep family that traces back to Broodmare of the Year Courtly Dee.

Uninvited Guest (Distorted Humor), a $400,000 KEESEP yearling, was second at 8-5 in his Monmouth unveiling June 20. He's out of MSW/GSP turf router and 'TDN Rising Star' Interrupted (Broken Vow). Interrupted is a daughter of of MSW/MGSP Alternate (Seattle Slew), making her a half to GISW Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro) and millionaire MGSW Alternation (Distorted Humor).

Chattalot (Midnight Lute) is a somewhat surprisingly short 8-5 on the morning line for Steve Amussen, who unveiled freaky 'Rising Star'-earning filly Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) on opening day. Chattalot was a $4,500 FTKOCT RNA turned $110,000 OBS April purchase off a :10 flat breeze. The bay, who is co-owned by Bloom Racing Stable of Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) fame, along with David Bernsen, is half to SW/GSP A Red Tie Day (Indygo Shiner) and GSP Alydarla (Henny Hughes). TJCIS PPs

8th-SAR, $103k, Alw, 3y/up, 7f, 5:03 p.m. ET

Book-ended by 'TDN Rising Stars', this is one of those vintage allowances you'll only find at Saratoga that could easily have a grade next to it. Shadwell Stable's wide-drawn Mahaamel (Into Mischief) gets a tepid nod on David Aragona's morning line at 5-2. He was a close second on debut at Belmont Apr. 24 to fellow 'Rising Star' and recent GIII Dwyer S. hero First Captain (Curlin), and broke through himself by 3 1/4 lengths going this trip in the Belmont mud June 4. The $700,000 KEESEP yearling, out GSW Hot Stones (Bustin Stones), earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for his maiden breaker.

Stonestreet homebred Beau Liam (Liam's Map) will have to work out a trip from the rail in just his second attempt. The son of GSW Belle of Perintown (Dehere) is half to GSW Strike It Rich (Unbridled's Song) and MSW/MGSP Tomlin (Distorted Humor). He aired by 7 1/2 lengths and received a 94 Beyer for his unveiling under the Twin Spires May 29.

Chad Brown has two signed on. Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) was beaten a nose in the GIII Gotham S. in March, third in the GII Wood Memorial S. Apr. 3 and fifth last out in the GI Preakness S. May 15. Witsel (Nyquist), meanwhile, was purchased privately by Peter Brant and Bob LaPenta after a 13 1/4-length romp as a late season 2-year-old at Tampa Dec. 9 for trainer Carlos Munoz. He earned a solid 84 Beyer for that outing, but the subsequent efforts by the field he beat that day have been hit or miss. The fourth finisher did take a state-bred stakes, however, after breaking his maiden for $25,000. Witsel was a $72,000 KEESEP RNA and is a grandson of Grade II-winning sprinter Golden Gale (Summer Squall).

Courtlandt Farms's $410,000 KEESEP buy Ten for Ten (Frosted) was last seen finishing a neck second in the nine-panel GII Remsen S. Dec. 5. The grey is out of a half-sister to GISWs Creative Cause (Giant's Causeway) and Vexatious (Giant's Causeway) as well as GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby winner and GI Belmont S. runner-up Destin (Giant's Causeway).

TJCIS PPs

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Gun Runner Filly Tabbed a ‘Rising Star’ at the Spa

Echo Zulu (f, 2, Gun Runner–Letgomyecho by Menifee), a half-sister to young Coolmore sire Echo Town (Speightstown), GISW, 'TDN Rising Star' and earner of $410,020, followed in her older brother's footsteps with a 'Rising Star' debut effort for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen at the Spa Thursday.

The 4-1 chance tracked 3-2 favorite Lady Scarlet (Union Rags), a debut runner-up at Churchill June 4, from second through an opening quarter in :22:07. Echo Zulu, a $300,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, cruised up to challenge for command approaching the quarter pole under confident handling by Ricardo Santana, Jr., and took off impressively from there to graduate by 5 1/2 expanding lengths.

The final time for 5 1/2 furlongs was 1:04.69. Microbiome (Twirling Candy) won the earlier division of this race also in impressive fashion on debut, stopping the timer in 1:05.60 for the same distance.

This is the eighth winner and first 'Rising Star' for freshman sire Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}). Echo Zulu is a half-sister to another 'Rising Star' in J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), GSW, $377,543; and Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's Song), GSP, $253,478. Letgomyecho had a filly by American Pharoah in 2020.

Asmussen, of course, trained both Horse of the Year Gun Runner as well as the aforementioned Echo Town.

“Opening day at Saratoga and that was a very impressive group of 2-year-old fillies assembled,” Asmussen said on the FS2 broadcast in the winner's circle. “For her to show her class and being from the first crop of Gun Runner, and the success they've already had–that's his eighth maiden special winner–and her also being a half-sister to Echo Town, who won the [GI Allen] Jerkens here for us last year, sky's the limit for the filly.”

5th-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 7-15, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.69, ft, 5 1/2 lengths.
ECHO ZULU, 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
Sales history: $300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP.
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $55,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or free Equineline catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-L and N Racing LLC and Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.

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Competitive Filly Sprinters Kick Off Spa Juvenile Action

5th-SAR, $100k, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 3:21 p.m. ET

Split divisions of juvenile filly sprinters get the Saratoga baby race season underway on opening day Thursday, with this latter half appearing to be clearly the saltier spot on paper. Heads turned when a filly by thus-far unheralded freshman sire Valiant Minister hammered for $360,000–120 times the Bridlewood Farm resident's stud fee–at OBS April, but one viewing of OUTFOXED's breeze-show effort quickly explains why. The dark bay barreled through a powerful :20 4/5 quarter-mile work, sparking a bidding war that ended with Solis/Litt as the last entity standing on behalf of LNJ Foxwoods. The Bill Mott trainee shows a modest local worktab, but did work a half-mile in :49 flat (3/12) from the gate on the Oklahoma training track June 25. Two other debutantes have live looks in Solasta (Goldencents) and Echo Zulu (Gun Runner). The former, owned by Jeff Drown and Don Rachel, is a half-sister to GISW Mia Mischief who cost $300,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling buy. The bay has breezed sharply for Jeremiah Englehart, including a best-of-31 bullet half-mile from the gate over this strip in :47 3/5 July 1. The latter, who goes out for L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds, is a half to last summer's GI H. Allen Jerkens S. hero Echo Town (Speightstown) and GSW J Boys Echo (Mineshaft). She sports a four-furlong gate bullet of her own, going the distance in :47 2/5 (1/44) June 15 at Keeneland. One of only two horses in the 10-horse group with racing experience, Pop-A-Top's Lady Scarlet (Union Rags) gets the slight nod on the morning line at 5-2 after showing good speed and finishing a clear second for Brad Cox in the opener June 4 at Churchill. TJCIS PPs

—@JBiancaTDN

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