Echo Zulu Entered in the Acorn Stakes June 11, 2022

Echo Zulu entered in Acorn Stakes on June 11, 2022 with jockey Joel Rosario, after coming off 4th place finish in the Kentucky Oaks.

She returns to Belmont for the first time since romping to a 7 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Frizette in September at the Acorn distance. That effort was part of an award-winning juvenile campaign in which Echo Zulu won the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga Race Course in September in her second career start and followed the Frizette with a gate-to-wire 5 1/4 length score in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in November at Del Mar that secured Eclipse Award honors.

“I'm very comfortable with her going back to the mile with how brilliant she is,” Asmussen said. “She made a good account of herself on some very trying circumstances in the Oaks, but I'm extremely happy about the opportunity to back her up to the one-turn mile at Belmont, where she ran a brilliant race in last year's Frizette.”

“I thought she ran great in the Oaks to miss being second by a length and off one race for the year,” said Dave Fiske, Winchell's racing and bloodstock advisor. “I thought she did really well. As fast as she is, you'd have to figure she's going to be more effective around one turn.

“She seems to be as fast as she's always been,” Fiske added. “I watched her work last week and her exercise rider couldn't have been standing any taller, any straighter in the irons. He just had hands on her withers and never moved.”