Echo Sound continues Arnold’s strong meet with Myrtlewood win
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Rusty Arnold trained his 300th Keeneland winner a few days ago. Friday, he trained the sharp winner of the Myrtlewood Stakes, Echo Sound.
Arnold notched his second winner on the Friday card in the Myrtlewood. One race later, the Arnold-trained Poolside With Slim won the Grade 2 Valley View, giving Arnold his eighth win this October, his best Keeneland meet since 2011 and more winners than in his last five Lexington meets combined.
Echo Sound? The 2-year-old filly, from the first crop of the sire Echo Town, has three wins from the same number of starts, and she proved much the best under Irad Ortiz Jr. in the six-furlong, $200,000 Myrtlewood.
Echo Sound scored a debut win in August at Ellis Park before capturing a first-level allowance in September at Churchill. She went off 3-1 second choice in the Myrtlewood and came out of the race looking ready for more.
“This was a step up in company. She’s answered every question and hopefully will move forward into graded stakes,” said Arnold, who trains Echo Sound for Gabriel Duignan.
Echo Sound ($8.96) broke alertly and settled into a perfect stalking spot under Ortiz, sitting third, a few lengths behind dueling leaders White Sands and Praying. Those two went 21.86 and 45.72, a snappy clip over a racing surface that produced slowish times throughout the card. White Sands dropped away first, fading in upper stretch, but longshot Praying required more work to run down. Echo Sound as she approached Praying ducked in while at first failing to change leads, possibly craning her head toward the Keeneland crowd. When she did change leads and put her head down, facing the wire, Echo Sound leapt forward and began pulling away. Then, another duck in and look out, another Ortiz correction, and this time Echo Sound went straight and strong to the finish, winning by 2 1/2 lengths while clocking 1:10.65.
Praying, exiting a seven-length third start maiden win at Horseshoe Indianapolis, held second by more than a length over favored Trust Fund Philly, who stalked the pace and closed mildly. Dancing Magic rallied from a distant last to finish fourth.
Out of the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Eagle Sound, Echo Sound was bred in Kentucky by Springhouse Farm Vision TBs, Bruce Pieratt, and Patricia Pieratt. Her sire had his first stakes winner a few days ago. Echo Sound will have a chance in graded stakes. And her trainer is having himself a Keeneland meet.
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