Epicenter looks good to Winchell in breeze for BC Classic

Lexington, Ky.

Owner Ron Winchell stood in the temporary stands on the Keeneland apron Sunday morning, taking in the same image he’s happily been able to witness for more than a year.

It’s like the best version of “Groundhog Day” for the helmsman of Winchell Thoroughbreds, watching his Grade 1-winning colt Epicenter head out for a piece of serious exercise and seeing the son of Not This Time go through his motions with a methodical level of ease. In his penultimate breeze in preparation for what will be the toughest race of his life in the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Epicenter once again didn’t deviate from what has become the norm throughout his career.

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Working in company with stablemate Uncle Berley, the leader of the 3-year-old male division kept up his impersonation of a metronome, covering five furlongs in 1:00.2 under jockey Joel Rosario over the Keeneland main track just after 7:30 a.m. EDT.

“This morning was just more of the same. He did what he needed to do,” Winchell said after watching Epicenter’s move, doing so alongside longtime manager David Fiske. “He went out there and looked like he went really easy and fast and nice, all the good words you can associate with Epicenter.”

Since breaking his maiden at second asking at Churchill Downs last November, there have been ample positive adjectives put forth whenever Epicenter’s name is mentioned. The high regard he earned following victories in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2) was such that even when he suffered defeats in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, many pundits still viewed Epicenter as the one his sophomore brethren would have to go through if they wanted to claim year-end honors.

That opinion was proven correct during the summer as Epicenter keep making the incremental improvements needed to overtake his classmates. Following a victory in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga on July 30, the Steve Asmussen trainee delivered his most emphatic statement in the form of a 5 1/4-length triumph in the Travers Stakes (G1) where he easily bested Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike and Preakness hero Early Voting.

“He’s not only kept his form, but really he’s improved his form, and to me that’s the impressive part,” Winchell said. “I like that if you stack him up next to (2017 horse of the year) Gun Runner’s career, he’s actually a little ahead of where Gun Runner was at this stage.”

The Breeders’ Cup Classic will mark Epicenter’s first test against older rivals and the first time since the Risen Star Stakes where he won’t be the betting favorite. That honor will undoubtedly go to the brilliant unbeaten Flightline, who has yet to take a hard breath in any of five career victories.

Although Flightline may be the odds-on choice to turn the Classic into a 10-furlong coronation, Winchell knows as well as anyone that guarantees simply do not exist in a competitive setting.

“I think Flightline is obviously the superstar everyone is talking about, and everyone expects him to win, but it’s horse racing,” Winchell said. “When you expect to win, that’s sometimes when you don’t win, and we’ve certainly been on that side of it. At least we don’t have any pressure. They have all the pressure. We don’t have the pressure. And if (Epicenter) were to pull it off, would he be horse of the year? I‘d love to be in the position all the time where you have one race where you get to be horse of the year if you win.”

Regardless how the Classic plays out for Epicenter, Winchell figures his family’s operation will still be poised to have another exceptional notch added to its belt. As a son of legendary sire Tapit, whom Winchell campaigned and still owns 50 percent of, Flightline is himself a tribute to the breadth and depth of the Winchell program.

“He’s a Tapit I wanted,” Winchell said of Flightline. “But yeah, it’s great for Tapit, especially as he’s older in age now. To get what looks like the best of the Tapits at this stage is great, too.”

Epicenter headed a busy work tab for Asmussen on Sunday morning. Champion Echo Zulu was clocked for five furlongs at 59.4 seconds in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Grade 1 winners Clairière and Society each continued to get ready for the Distaff with five-furlong moves in 1:00.8 and :59.8 seconds, respectively. Potential Juvenile Fillies contender Grand Love went five furlongs in 1:00.2.