Echo Zulu

Believe it or not, it was just three years ago this month--a mere 36 months ago--that Gun Runner got his first stakes winner as a sire. The Three Chimneys stallion shot to the top so quickly and has such a long list of elite performers that no one would be blamed for mistaking his tenure as far longer. To refresh all of our memories, that initial stakes winner for Gun Runner was a graded winner, as Pappacap won the GII Best Pal Stakes, only to be followed up the next...

1st-Keeneland, $79,675, Msw, 4-26, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.35, fm, 1 1/4 lengths. SATURDAY FLIRT (f, 2, Mendelssohn--Dragic {MSP, $104,350}, by Broken Vow) raced near the rear of the field on this unveiling, biding her time in cover as the frontrunners put up :21.89 and :45.18 early splits. Swung seven wide to the grandstand side as they rolled into the stretch, Saturday Flirt closed relentlessly but managed to overhaul 28-1 longshot Bois Blanc (First Samurai) in the late stages to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Out of a half-sister to...

6th-SA, $54K, Msw, 3-5yo, 5 1/2f, 6:30 p.m. ET. PARENTING (Justify) debuts for Gandharvi LLC., who purchased the colt at last year's OBS April Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale for $750,000. The Bob Baffert trainee's dam is a half-sister to Canadian champion turf male El Tormenta (Stormy Atlantic) and GSW Zero Tolerence (Mizzen Mast). The other half of the Baffert uncoupled entry is first time starter Middleburg (Tapit). A $485,000 buy for SF Bloodstock, Starlight and Madaket at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale, the gray is out of MGSW Selcourt (Tiz...

Track Phantom was one of the last yearlings that the L and N Racing crew looked at ahead of the 2022 Keeneland September Sale. The Quality Road colt from the Taylor Made consignment stayed at the forefront of their minds and they took home the yearling, who was the second foal out of 2017 GII Raven Run S. winner Miss Sunset (Into Mischief), for $500,000. "We just fell in love with him," recalled Michael Levinson, the racing manager and one of the four partners that make up L &N Racing....

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Eclipse Award-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner--Letgomyecho, by Menifee), was euthanized Sunday at the Chino Valley Equine Hospital in Southern California. Daily Racing Form was first to report the news. Trainer Steve Asmussen told the Form's Steve Andersen that the filly became cast in her stall and injured herself when trying to get back on her feet. "She was beyond special. My condolences to all who loved her," Asmussen told the Form. David Fiske, who has served as the racing and...

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com Echo Zulu winning the GI Ballerina S. She put on an impressive performance. I've always been a fan of hers. She's a hell of a horse. Exceptionally fast and a generational defining talent. --Clay Scherer, Bloodstock Agent

The nominees for the 2023 Secretariat Vox Populi Award are: Arcangelo, winner of the GI Belmont and Travers S. and the first horse to win a Triple Crown race with a female trainer; Casa Creed, the seasoned 7-year-old turf veteran who has continued to thrill fans while demonstrating both heart and resilience in winning the GI Fourstardave H.; Cody's Wish, 2022 Secretariat Vox Populi recipient whose four wins in five starts this year as a 5-year-old included the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and who shared an endearing and enduring connection with his namesake, the late Cody Dorman; Echo...

Veterinarian Ryan Carpenter told Zoe Cadman on this week's TDN Writers' Room that Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) continues to do well five days after surgery to repair broken sesamoids in her left front leg. "The surgery went very well," Carpenter told Cadman on her weekly segment, 1/ST Things 1/ST at Santa Anita. "We did a fetlock arthrodesis and we used a new plate called a distal femoral plate, which is an application from the human world to incorporate the pastern joint in our repair, because we were really worried about...

One day after fetlock arthrodesis surgery to repair broken sesamoids in her left front leg, Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) spent an uneventful day at Steve Asmussen's barn at Santa Anita, according to David Fiske, racing manager for co-owner Ron Winchell. "No significant change from yesterday," texted Fiske in response to a TDN request for an update. "(She) splits her time between lying down and standing at her stall door eating hay. At this stage, that feels like a win. No news is good news." Echo Zulu was working in company...

Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) had successful surgery today to repair her two broken sesamoids in her left front leg and the surgery "went as well as could be expected" said David Fiske, racing manager to co-owner Ron Winchell. The surgery was performed at the Southern California Equine Foundation's hospital on the grounds of Santa Anita Park. The 4-year-old filly suffered an injury Friday morning at Santa Anita, working in company with stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) in preparation for the Breeders' Cup. "She's out of surgery," said Fiske. "Out of recovery....

Echo Zulu (Gun Runner--Letgomyecho, by Menifee), the 2021 champion 2-year-old filly and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner who also captured three other Grade I races, including the 2023 Ballerina H., suffered two broken left front sesamoids Friday morning as she was working in company with Gunite, confirmed David Fiske, racing manager for owner Ron Winchell. "Echo Zulu sustained a biaxial sesamoid bone fracture of the left-front fetlock during training this morning at Santa Anita," Fiske texted the TDN. "She has been stabilized in a kimzey splint and will undergo...

A trio of Breeders' Cup-bound horses trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen had their first works at Santa Anita Friday. Drilling easy half miles under the watchful eye of assistant Scott Blasi were Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), who went the distance in 50.80 seconds and Society (Gun Runner), who completed her move in 50.20 seconds. Also working for Asmussen was Private Creed (Jimmy Creed), who was officially clocked going three furlongs in 37.40 seconds. "This was their first work on the racetrack so we didn't want to do a...