Midnight Bourbon first star to come out for Asmussen

It’s been a quiet start to the Fair Grounds meet – no wins from 18 starters – for the man who has trained more winners in North America than anyone. Of course, the victories will start coming for Steve Asmussen, count on that, and regardless of his record during the Fair Grounds racing seasons, he always has top performers stabled and training in New Orleans during the winter.

Midnight Bourbon, one of 2021’s best 3-year-olds, had a Fair Grounds workout Sunday, and Asmussen said in a phone interview Tuesday that Echo Zulu, sure to be named champion 2-year-old filly of 2021, is due to arrive at his Fair Grounds barn in early January. So will Clairiere, among the best 3-year-old dirt fillies this year.

Midnight Bourbon, whose best race might have been a second to possible 3-year-old champion Essential Quality in the Travers Stakes, worked an easy half-mile Sunday in 50.20 seconds. The breeze was Midnight Bourbon’s first since he finished third behind older foes Maxfield and Happy Saver in the Grade 1 Clark on Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs.

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Midnight Bourbon got a short post-Clark freshening and will be on a serious work pattern going forward, with his major winter goal the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 26. Midnight Bourbon will have a yet-to-be-determined prep race in January, and despite a nine-start 2021 campaign that has included races every month save April, June, October, and December, Midnight Bourbon still “is training beautifully,” Asmussen said.

“He’s a remarkable horse, a tremendous physical,” he said.

The Gun Runner filly Echo Zulu won three Grade 1s while going undefeated during her 2-year-old season, romping in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, her two-turn debut, after wins in the Frizette at Belmont and the Spinaway at Saratoga. Echo Zulu remains on farm rest in Kentucky, but will head to New Orleans “around the first of the year,” said Asmussen, who plans to point her to a 3-year-old debut in March.

Clairiere broke through with her first Grade 1 win when she captured the Cotillion at Parx Racing in September, following that with a close, wide fourth in the BC Distaff, where she earned a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure. Asmussen said the schedule for Clariere, currently at Stonestreet Farm in Florida, will be similar to Echo Zulu’s – a January return and a March 2022 debut.

In the nearer term, Asmussen plans to start 2-year-old Epicenter in the Gun Runner on Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds. Making his second start, Epicenter won a one-turn-mile maiden race at Churchill Downs by 3 1/2 lengths last month. Other Asmussen-trained juveniles who will at least train at Fair Grounds, if not race there, include the colts Stellar Tap and Costa Terra and the filly La Crete, Clariere’s younger sister.

◗ A first-level turf-sprint allowance for 2-year-olds is the highest-class race on a soft-looking nine-race program Friday. Fair Ground is averaging 8.56 starters per grass race this meet, a lower number than usual, and the Friday feature drew only seven entrants. The shortest prices on the morning line – Roman Poet at 3-1 and Celestial Finish at 7-2 – are trained by Tom Amoss. Roman Poet drops in class after a sixth-place turf-sprint stakes finish at Keeneland and figures to be bet below the published odds in a race lacking strong contenders.