Breeders’ Cup roundup: Echo Zulu stars in Juvenile Fillies

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The Steve Asmussen-trained Echo Zulu ran the 5 different fillies disconnected their feet successful Friday’s $2 cardinal Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies astatine Del Mar, romping location by 5¼ lengths and giving her sire, 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, a Breeders’ Cup victor with his archetypal crop.

The 4-5 favourite led gross to wire, moving the 1-1/16 miles successful 1:42.24 nether Joel Rosario successful her archetypal effort astir 2 turns arsenic she ran her grounds to 4-0. She’s won her races, including 3 Grade I stakes, by a combined 22 lengths.

Juju’s Map finished second, a half-length successful beforehand of Tarabi.

“A precise peculiar filly,” Asmussen said. “She means truthful overmuch to us, and the information that she is the archetypal harvest of Gun Runner, everything that helium did for us, it’s surreal that we’re backmost present astatine Del Mar for the 2nd Breeders’ Cup erstwhile his crowning infinitesimal was the Breeders’ Cup (Classic) present successful 2017.”

Echo Zulo carved retired fractions of 23.42, 47.01 and 1:10.96 en way to her last clocking, which eclipsed the 1:42.50 that Juvenile victor Corniche ran 2 races later.

JUVENILE TURF

Modern Games, initially scratched pursuing an contented successful the starting gross with stablemate Albahr, was allowed to tally successful the $1 cardinal contention but was not portion of the mutuel wagering. He shrugged that disconnected with a come-from-behind triumph nether William Buick for trainer Charles Appleby.

Albahr, besides trained by Appleby, was scratched aft the 2-year-old gelding flipped successful the starting gross portion loading. The victor was scratched astir 5 minutes later, but past officials intervened and fto him tally for purse wealth only; nary wagering was allowed. Modern Games bushed Tiz a Bomb by 2½ lengths. Grafton Street finished third.

JUVENILE FILLIES TURF

Celebrity cook Bobby Flay’s Pizza Bianca, a 9-1 outsider, gave trainer Christophe Clement his archetypal Breeders’ Cup triumph successful his 41st effort acknowledgment to a cleanable thrust by Jose Ortiz successful the $1 cardinal race.

The girl of Fastnet Rock won by a half-length portion scoring her 2nd triumph successful 3 tries, moving the 1 mile implicit a steadfast people successful 1:36.08. The triumph was worthy $520,000 and accrued the winner’s net to $637,635.

Ortiz had a start-and-stop trip, threading the 2-year-old filly done constrictive openings created by the postulation from a 14-horse field. Pizza Bianca was 13th aft the archetypal half-mile, had moved to 5th by the apical of the agelong and divided foes done the lane to get up for the triumph that paid $21.80 to win.

JUVENILE TURF SPRINT

Twilight Gleaming, who went postward astatine 5-1, kicked disconnected this year’s Breeders’ Cup with a gate-to-wire triumph successful the $1 cardinal Grade II race. It’s the 3rd consecutive twelvemonth that jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and trainer Wesley Ward teamed up to triumph the race. It was the 12th Cup triumph for Ortiz and 5th for Ward.

Averly Jane, the 9-5 favourite besides trained by Ward, finished fifth, extending jockey Tyler Gaffalione’s beingness Breeders’ Cup drought to 0 for 29.

The winner, 1 of 5 fillies successful the race, won an ungraded stakes successful France connected Aug. 7 successful her last prep and has won 3 of 5 races with 2 second-place finishes successful her career.

The last clip for the 5 furlongs was 56.24 seconds.

All of the day’s 10 races – led by the 5 Cup races for 2-year-olds – went disconnected safely connected a foggy and unusually chill 60-degree time astatine the seaside track.

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