Epicenter (inside) | Coady
Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Epicenter (Not this time) put on his final run ahead of the GI Kentucky Derby next week with a five-feather drill at 1:01.00 (3/6) at Churchill Downs Sunday. On a muddy track, exercise racer Roberto Howell test drove the GII Louisiana Derby winner through divisions: 12.60, :24.40, :36.20, :48.40 and he galloped. out six keychains in 1:13.80.
“Honestly, I have a lot of confidence in Epicenter right now, I don’t think you can abuse it [with a horse like him],” Coach Steve Asmussen Sunday. “He trained very easily. And I think he played in the Louisiana Derby with great ease, the way he came back from the test barn and walked into the barn, and that’s why his training and his work told since then getting faster, or stronger, is the norm for me. ”
Epicenter worked in the company with Gun It (Tapit).Curlin).
“It feels perfect, you know [Alejandro] and how he goes about what he’s doing,” Asmussen said. “His former workmate, Gun It, is a very strong, very athletic horse… a bit difficult to manage, and that gives a little extra in the game. [Epicenter], especially go to the column, get off the car, exit the column and what you are getting out of it. And as you saw today, they’ve moved away from it a lot smoother, just a lot easier to the extreme. Still strong, still very smooth. I think [Epicenter] We’re on a nice cadence, and we’re trying to create situations and prepare for what we expect to happen in the races this week. ”
Asmussen also nominated GI candidate Kentucky Oaks Echo Zulu (Gunman) to work Sunday at Churchill. The 2-year-old champion last year went four times in: 50.80 (33/42).
The Echo Zulu ends 2021 with a win in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and wins at its 2022 debut at GII Fair Grounds Oaks on March 26.
Asmussen said: “I think she won the Fair Grounds Oaks because of her natural ability and class. “She trained the Oaks family, and then made a big move last Sunday. Gallop from there. [Today’s work] has become typical for her, easily half a mile. I want her razor to be as sharp and as sharp as she can give next Friday. ”
Asmussen will be hoping to win his first Kentucky Derby on Saturday, but will not admit that he feels nervous ahead of the race.
“I don’t run. I am good,” he said. “I can’t believe how well this is done with so many things online. I had a rather nervous drive last night with mostly rain and thunderstorms, and if that’s true, then it is, but everything seems to be going perfectly. This year’s Oaks and Derby is super hot with how strong the races look and how well all the horses are doing. It will be an extremely exciting year or six. “
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This story was posted in Top News and tagged Churchill Downs, Echo Zulu, Epicenter, Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, Steve Asmussen, Winchell Thoroughbreds.
