L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds's Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), second to Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) when that one solidified her champion female sprinter honors in last year's GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint, asserted her position atop that division this year with a convincing tally over that same rival in Saturday's GI Ballerina H. at Saratoga. She was also the second Grade I winner for her connections sired by Gun Runner on the card.
An Eclipse winner herself in 2021 with a perfect four-for-four 2-year-old season that included romping victories in the track-and-trip GI Spinaway S. and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies after a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy unveiling at the Spa, the bay took the GII Fair Grounds Oaks last March upon seasonal debut. She could only manage fourth in a strong running of the GI Kentucky Oaks, however, and when she resurfaced in September it was in Churchill's seven-furlong GIII Dogwood S., which she took by more than five lengths. Giving a good account of herself in her first attempt against older rivals at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, she'd been absolutely dominant in two prior appearances this year–in the GIII Winning Colors S. under the Twin Spires May 29, and when earning a gaudy 112 Beyer Speed Figure when 7 1/4 lengths clear in the GII Honorable Miss H. July 26.
Off at 3-5 to Goodnight Olive's 2-1 with nobody else close in the market, Echo Zulu was somewhat surprisingly out-footed by her main rival in the first few strides before taking the narrowest of leads from Goodnight Olive through splits of :22.45 and :45.23. They hit the top of the lane more or less on even terms, but Echo Zulu quickly found another gear to settle matters by 2 1/2 lengths.
“She was picking it up nicely when I asked her to,” said winning rider Florent Geroux. “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… 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.”
Asmussen, who was celebrating his second win in the Ballerina and first since Lady Tak in 2004, added, “We were extremely confident in how she's been doing. She's dotted all the 'i's' and crossed all the 't's'. She was unbelievable coming out of her last race and coming into this. Just had a tremendous amount of confidence that she would do exactly how she did.
Of the match-up with Goodnight Olive, the Hall of Famer said, “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. 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, you're confidence was it was a prep. She's four-for-four here at Saratoga and has another Grade I win on her resume. Obviously, she's as fast as a horse can go.”
Co-owner Ron Winchell noted, “Last year we were trying to get her ready and kind of push her into getting into the Breeders' Cup, and it wasn't like she was 100% fit. Coming to this year, we had enough time to get her right, and now we are here today where we think she is at her best. We will worry about [Breeders' Cup plans] tomorrow.”
Saturday, Saratoga Racecourse
BALLERINA H.-GI, $500,000, Saratoga, 8-26, 3yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:20.95, my.
1–ECHO ZULU, 123, f, 4, 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
($300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. 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; J-Florent Geroux. $275,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Filly, 11-9-1-0, $2,640,375. *1/2 to Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's Song), GSP, $253,478; 1/2 to J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), GSW, $377,543; 1/2 to Echo Town (Speightstown), GISW, $410,020. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Goodnight Olive, 124, m, 5, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Salty Strike (MGSW, $485,266), by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Lake Huron, by Salt Lake
3rd Dam: My Rainbow, by Lyphard
($170,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-First Row Partners and Team Hanley; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Chad Brown. $100,000.
3–Matareya, 122, f, 4, by Pioneerof the Nile
1st Dam: Innovative Idea (GSW, $229,343), by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Golden Velvet, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Caress, by Storm Cat
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $60,000.
Margins: 2HF, 6 1/4, NO. Odds: 0.60, 2.20, 9.30.
Also Ran: Caramel Swirl, Dr B, Sterling Silver, Maryquitecontrary. Scratched: Wicked Halo.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Pedigree Notes:
Echo Zulu added to an extremely productive week for her sire (see coverage of the Forego for more), and two races later her stablemate Disarm (Gun Runner) nearly capped things off with a victory in the GI Travers S., settling for second after some traffic trouble.
The winner's dam Letgomyecho took all three of her sprint starts, including the 2005 GII Forward Gal S., and last sold for $135,000 in foal to Congrats at KEENOV '11. She has since produced four graded performers and another multiple stakes-placed runner, including L and N Racing's Echo Town (Speightstown), winner of the GI Runhappy H. Allen Jerkens S. on this card and at this track and trip in 2020–he has first yearlings this season; and 2017 GIII Gotham S. hero J Boys Echo (Mineshaft). Letgomyecho's last reported foal is unraced 3-year-old filly Doing Justice (American Pharoah), who fetched $1.4 million at the 2021 Keeneland September sale. Half of Menifee's six graded winners as a broodmare sire are out of Letgomyecho.
Champion Echo Zulu takes the G1 Ballerina H.!! 🏆
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/oPkpiuJVxo
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) August 26, 2023
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