They say nobody’s perfect, but maybe they hadn’t seen Echo Zulu yet. The bay filly was untouchable in 2021, dominating all four of her races in a season of true perfection. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Echo Zulu capped off a brilliant 2-year-old campaign with a 5 1/4-length victory in the Nov. 5 Net Jets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar. It was a signature triumph that has made her an overwhelming favorite to be voted the Eclipse Award in this division. Echo Zulu began her year by winning on debut on July 15, opening day of the Saratoga summer meet, striding clear by 5 1/2 lengths in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden dash to earn an eye-catching 92 Beyer Speed Figure. Asmussen then wheeled her back on closing weekend at Saratoga, with Echo Zulu taking the Grade 1 Spinaway by four lengths in a sparkling effort. “To jump from maidens to a Grade 1 off one race, everything going your own way, is not easy,” Asmussen said afterward. “But I think it takes a special horse to do it, and maybe that’s what she is.” Echo Zulu, owned in partnership by the L and N Racing of Lee Levinson and the Winchell Thoroughbreds of Ron Winchell, is from the first crop of Gun Runner, who already has emerged as a world-class sire. Asmussen trained Gun Runner to a Horse of the Year title in 2017. Echo Zulu in the Spinaway marked the first Grade 1 win for a son or daughter of Gun Runner. :: Full list of 2021 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories “To have Gun Runner’s first Grade 1 winner, everything he did for the barn – I can’t measure how much I wanted that,” said Asmussen. The next two races for Echo Zulu furthered the notion that she’s special. Ridden for the third straight time by Ricardo Santana Jr., she won the Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont Park in early October by 7 1/4 lengths as a short-priced favorite in a sensational performance that made her an odds-on choice in the BC Juvenile Fillies. With Joel Rosario displacing Santana at Del Mar, Echo Zulu did not disappoint, running her rivals off their feet from the opening bell to leave little doubt that she was the best of her class. “I’m an attorney,” said Levinson, “and I speak for a living, but I can’t even talk.” “It’s incredible,” said Winchell. The Kentucky-bred Echo Zulu was purchased for $300,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sales in 2020 from a consignment of Betz Thoroughbreds, who bred the filly with CHNNHK, Coco Equine, Burns, Magers, and Ramsby. Her 4-for-4 record netted her owners $1,480,000. Asmussen said the 2022 Kentucky Oaks is the first major target for Echo Zulu as a 3-year-old, with preps at Fair Grounds being the most likely route.