Echo Zulu progressing in recovery

Nearly six weeks after she suffered a severe leg injury in a workout at Santa Anita, the 2021 champion Echo Zulu has shown progress in her recovery and could be moved from a local veterinary clinic in early winter.

Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, said Echo Zulu is grazing briefly twice a day.

Echo Zulu sustained fractured sesamoids in a workout on Oct. 13 in preparation for a scheduled start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 4. Echo Zulu underwent emergency surgery the following day.

“Last Saturday was week five” of recovery, Blasi said. “She’s still continuing to improve. We’re on a week-to-week basis instead of a day-by-day basis which is a good feeling.

“I’ll feel better when we’re at the two-month period.”

Echo Zulu is likely to remain in California in coming months, according to Blasi, who is current based at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

“We’ll take more of a conservative approach and keep her out there as long as she needs,” he said. “She’s at the point where she is grazing for 20 minutes twice a day. She is on stall rest. She’s comfortable and getting around.”

The champion 2-year-old filly of 2021, Echo Zulu has won 9 of 11 starts and earned $2,640,375. She is owned by L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Echo Zulu has been housed at the Chino Valley Equine Clinic, about 25 miles southeast of Santa Anita, for the last month.

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