Echo Zulu stays perfect with convincing Juvenile Fillies win

Del Mar, Calif.

Four years after her sire Gun Runner won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, Echo Zulu added a Breeders’ Cup win of her own at the seaside oval when rolling to a gate-to-wire victory in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies.

Echo Zulu scored by 5 1/2 lengths under new rider Joel Rosario to move to 4-for-4 on her young career and lock up an Eclipse Award as champion juvenile filly for trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and L and N Racing. The Juvenile Fillies, which was won in a sharp final time of 1:42.24 for 1 1/16 miles, was Echo Zulu's third Grade 1 victory following previous wins in the Spinaway and Frizette.

“She’s just brilliant,” said Asmussen, who won an eighth Breeders’ Cup race and second Juvenile Fillies following My Miss Aurelia in 2011. “She’s faster than they are. It’s as simple as that. We’re just so fortunate to be around her.”

Rosario picked up the ride on Echo Zulu after his scheduled mount, Ain’t Easy, was scratched from the Juvenile Fillies on Monday. In all three previous wins, Asmussen’s go-to rider Ricardo Santana Jr. was in the irons. However, with Santana in the midst of a lengthy slump, Asmussen made the decision to enlist Rosario while citing his extensive experience riding at Del Mar.

Rosario picked up his third Juvenile Fillies win and 14th Breeders’ Cup victory overall.

“She is amazing,” Rosario said. “She is fast, has so much speed and it looks like she is not going that fast. Today she liked what she was doing up there (in the front) and when I asked her, she just took off. She’s amazing.”

Echo Zulu and Rosario broke alertly from the outside stall and carved fractions of 23.42, 47.01 and 1:10.96 for six furlongs on a track that had been playing on the quick side. On the second turn, 3-1 second choice Juju’s Map and Tarabi each mounted a bid to catch the loose-on-the-lead frontrunner, but it proved futile.

Echo Zulu quickly opened her lead at the top of the stretch and powered to the wire to reward her many backers with a $3.60 win mutuel.

Juju’s Map finished a half-length in front of Tarabi for second. Hidden Connection, Sequist and Desert Dawn completed the order of finish.

“The level of pride is just unbelievable, with her being in the first crop of Gun Runner and what he’s done for us,” said Asmussen, who also trained Gun Runner for Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Ron Winchell of Winchell Thoroughbreds reflected on what his Classic winner and star offspring have provided to the longtime stable previously operated by his father, Verne Winchell.

“It’s something you always dream about when you have a horse like Gun Runner, and in his first crop getting what will be a champion 2-year-old filly,” Winchell said. “So for us... it just makes it extra special.”