Gunite, Echo Zulu pointing to Saratoga and Breeders' Cup
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Gun Runner hinted at talent as a 2-year-old, was a Grade 2 winner and third in the Kentucky Derby early in his 3-year-old campaign, and became a Grade 1 winner toward the end of that season. But as an older horse, he was nearly untouchable, ending his career on a streak of five Grade 1 wins and voted the 2017 Horse of the Year for co-owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys and trainer Steve Asmussen.
Asmussen and the Winchell operation certainly hope Gun Runner’s progeny will continue to follow in their sire’s footprints. Gun Runner has been an early sensation at Three Chimneys, and his first crop to hit the track included 2021 Eclipse Award champion juvenile filly Echo Zulu and Grade 1 winner Gunite.
Both runners, now 4, have continued to train on strongly and will head into the summer off recent stakes wins at Churchill Downs. Winchell homebred Gunite topped a strong field in the Aristides Stakes on Saturday, earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 108 for his seventh career stakes win.
“Just like his sire, Gun Runner, he seems to get better with age,” Asmussen said. “We’re very fortunate to train a horse like Gunite. We’ve noticed as he’s gotten older, he has gotten faster, and that’s a great sign moving forward for his campaign.”
Echo Zulu, who races for Winchell Thoroughbreds and L and N Racing, won her 5-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Winning Colors on Memorial Day at Churchill. She also earned a career-best figure of 97 for her sixth graded stakes victory.
Gunite and Echo Zulu will be headed north with Asmussen’s string to base at Saratoga for the summer. Echo Zulu won the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes there, the first of three Grade 1s that secured her championship, while Gunite captured the Grade 1 Hopeful at the historic track.
“Both of them [will campaign] with the Breeders’ Cup in mind, but expect both of them to run at Saratoga,” Asmussen said.
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