Epicenter, Echo Zulu Smooth in Breezes for Derby, Oaks

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/01/2022 - 08:17
Link: 
Epicenter, Echo Zulu Smooth in Breezes for Derby, Oaks
Image: 
Description: 

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Epicenter works inside Alejandro in a May 1 breeze at Churchill Downs

Eleven workouts from Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) horses at Churchill Downs April 30 led to a quiet morning for Derby training beneath the Twin Spires May 1. Most horses that breezed Saturday had easy post-workout days of walking.

Some star power was still on display Sunday, highlighted by a workout from Epicenter , the early favorite for the May 7 Derby in future-book wagering offered in Nevada and with numerous overseas bookmakers. The Steve Asmussen trainee worked a measured five furlongs in 1:01 over a muddy track with stablemate and 4-year-old first-level allowance horse Alejandro .

Later during the morning session, Asmussen's Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) contender Echo Zulu  breezed solo a half-mile in :50 4/5 over a drying-out track rated as good. The workouts from Asmussen trainees were delayed from early morning due to overnight rain that initially left a significant wet track surface.

Breezing inside Alejandro, Epicenter was timed in splits of splits of :12 3/5, :24 3/5, :36 1/5, and :48 2/5 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13 4/5. Epicenter held a slight advantage under a hold from his exercise rider.

Sign up for

The workout from the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner followed a stiffer six-furlong breeze in 1:12 2/5 April 24 at Churchill. 

"He has taken a lot of training extremely easy," said Asmussen. "I thought he took the Louisiana Derby extremely easy, how he came back from the test barn and walked back into (my) barn, and that's why his works have been ever since faster or stronger than is the norm for me."

Echo Zulu, racing a day earlier than Epicenter this week, was given a comfortable four-furlong workout, standard for Asmussen stakes horses five days before a race. The daughter of Gun Runner   completed her most serious drill last week, blitzing six furlongs in 1:11 4/5.

Like Epicenter, she scored last out at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, taking the Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) by a nose over Hidden Connection  in her seasonal debut.

"I thought she won the Fair Grounds Oaks on natural ability and class," Asmussen said. "She has trained for the Oaks and put in solid training, and then a huge move last Sunday. I just felt we're there (in terms of training). She went for a typical easy half-mile. We want her razor-sharp and as fleet as she can be come Friday."

Echo Zulu works May 1 at Churchill Downs
Photo: Corrie McCroskey
Echo Zulu works May 1 at Churchill Downs

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Zulu, was voted champion 2-year-old filly of 2021 after a 4-for-4 campaign capped by a front-running triumph in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar. Epicenter, a Not This Time   colt owned strictly by Winchell Thoroughbreds, is 4-for-6 and a three-time stakes winner.

Both horses will again be ridden by Joel Rosario. Rosario is a Derby-winning jockey, having scored on the Shug McGaughey-trained Orb  in 2013.

Asmussen, a Hall of Famer, seeks his first Derby victory. The race is one of the few stakes of magnitude North America's winningest trainer has not yet captured. He is 0-for-23 in the 1 1/4-mile classic, with two seconds and two thirds.

Asked if he was feeling pressure or nerves, he laughed.

"I'm not running. I'm good. I'm good," he said. "I am unbelievably excited to be doing this well, with this much on the line."

Asmussen is a two-time Kentucky Oaks winner, capturing the race in 2014 with Untapable  and in 2005 with Summerly , both for Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Though no other Derby horses worked Sunday, a handful made racetrack appearances for jogs or gallops, including Japanese raider Crown Pride , who turned in an eager gallop at a high rate of speed. 

Mo Donegal  went at more of a leisurely pace, but coming a day after his Saturday breeze, his quick racetrack return appeared a positive indication.

Michael James Burke and Michael Hilary Burke's Summer Is Tomorrow , who was second in the UAE Derby Sponsored By Mubadala (G2) is expected to work four furlongs May 2, according to trainer Bhupat Seemar. The colt by Summer Front   was bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones was out on the track Sunday for an easy gallop.

"He's a good work horse. He doesn't need company; he does everything on his own," said Seemar. "He's quite a push-button horse, to be honest, so hopefully all will go well. He's been brilliant since he's been here. Every day he improves."