Netjets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Grade 1)

ECHO Zulu looked every inch a superstar in the making with a sensational performance in the Grade 1 Netjets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

The unbeaten Steve Asmussen-trained youngster was taken straight to the front by Joel Rosario, and always looked to be moving well within herself.

Juju’s Map and Tarabi briefly loomed up in her slipstream – but as soon as Rosario let the daughter of Gun Runner stride on, the race was quickly over.

The further she went, the better she looked and her rider was able to look behind him and see only daylight. She won by over five lengths in a time of 1m 42.24secs, faster than Corniche in the colt’s version.

She received a Beyer speed figure of 94 to Corniche’s 91.

Asmussen said: “She’s a very special filly and this means so much to us. That she’s from the first crop of Gun Runner makes it surreal that we are back here four years on from his classic success. She has just done everything right. She is a true champion.”

He added: “She’s done just like she did in the Spinaway and it will all be geared towards the Kentucky Oaks next year.

“To compare her against horses of her age is hard to do because right now she’s an extremely rare commodity.

“When she broke her maiden and broke a 92 Beyer at Saratoga, she ticked all the boxes.”