Echo Sound An Easy Winner Of The Victory Ride

Echo Sound need one ping–and one ping only–to know when it was time to zero in on her target, and the result was run silent, run deep in the GIII Victory Ride Stakes at Saratoga on what was a Thursday opening day.

Near perfect across a five-race career, Echo Sound debuted a winner last summer at Ellis Park and then cleared an optional claimer at Churchill Downs in early September. The bay won the Myrtlewood Stakes at Keeneland in late October before she was beaten by 2 1/2 lengths in the Fern Creek Stakes in Louisville Nov. 30. Taking a break, her 3-year-old campaign was marked by getting her picture taken in the GIII Ms. Preakness Stakes at Pimlico May 16.

Bet down to 3-2 here, the chalk did not go all ahead full at the break as longshot Hollygrove (Complexity) took control up the backstretch. Ready to engage the pacesetter around the far turn, Echo Sound turned up the pressure and at the top of the lane the filly was ready to see the race out. Inside the eighth pole the 3-year-old cleared as the wire beckoned.

“Each one of them [her races] has been a step this year,” said trainer Rusty Arnold, who also trained the race's namesake Victory Ride (Seeking the Gold). “The race was tougher I think today and she took a step forward–so, very, very happy.

“She was a pretty good 2-year-old,” he said. “She got beat once and the reason she got beat [was] she had a little issue. We turned her out, gave her the winter off, and I think she has taken a couple steps forward. We're going to need one more step forward for the next one.”

“We bred her,” said Gabriel Duignan, winning owner and co-breeder of Echo Sound. “We bred her with the Pieratts. This was her [Eagle Sound's] last foal, unfortunately her mother died a few hours after having her, she hemorrhaged. This is her first filly, so we said we are keeping her. That makes this extra special.”

Pedigree Notes:
Echo Sound remains the lone graded winner for his second-crop sire (by Speightstown). Eagle Sound has produced 11 foals, all of whom have raced and she claims nine winners out of the bunch with the Victory Ride champ being her last registered foal of record. Digging into Echo Sound's extended female family, we find GII Blue Grass Stakes hero Wild Syn (Wild Again), MSP Magdalena's Chase (Cape Town) and MSW Island Escape (Petionville).

Thursday, Saratoga
VICTORY RIDE S.-GIII, $162,750, Saratoga, 7-3, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:15.49, ft.
1–ECHO SOUND, 124, f, 3, by Echo Town
            1st Dam: Eagle Sound, by Fusaichi Pegasus
            2nd Dam: Synformer, by Sovereign Dancer
            3rd Dam: Anjelicco, by Angle Light
O-Gabriel Duignan; B-Springhouse Farm, Vision TBs, Bruce
Pieratt & Patricia Pieratt (KY); T-George R. Arnold II; J-Luis
Saez. $96,250. Lifetime Record: 6-5-1-0, $459,995. *1/2 to
Pick of the Litter (Kitten's Joy), GSW, $419,110 and Deer
District (Oscar Performance), MGSP, $459,931. Werk Nick
Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Beauty Reigns, 120, f, 3, Into Mischief–Ilsa, by Tapit.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Tranquility Lake Farms LLC;
B-Wygod Equine, LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott. $35,000.
3–Indy Bay, 122, f, 3, Take Charge Indy–Discovery Bay,
by Speightstown. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($40,000 Wlg '22
KEENOV; $19,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $19,000 RNA 2yo '24
TTAAPR). O-C Two Racing Stable, Paul Braverman and Timothy
Pinch; B-Frankfort Park Farm (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.
$21,000.
Margins: 4 1/4, 4 3/4, 2. Odds: 1.50, 1.70, 1.80.
Also Ran: Hollygrove. Scratched: Whatintheliteral. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

Back-to-back stakes wins for Echo Sound 🏆

She wins the G3 Victory Ride Stakes with Luis Saez up for trainer Rusty Arnold, who also trained the race's namesake, Victory Ride! pic.twitter.com/vBB8m0lpEV

— NYRA (🗽) (@TheNYRA) July 3, 2025