Damon's Mound, Echo Again to Throw Down in Iroquois

The 2022-23 Road to the Kentucky Derby Series begins Sept. 17 with the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs, appropriately drawing two of the most promising 2-year-olds in the country in Damon's Mound and Echo Again. The races in the series award qualifying points to their top-five finishers. These points are limited as the series begins and increase as preps get closer to the 2023 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), which will be run May 6. Churchill Downs uses qualifying points as its preference system when the Derby overfills. The Iroquois isn't the only qualifier on the 11-race card at Churchill Downs Saturday. The $300,000 Pocahontas Stakes (G3) provides points leading into next spring's Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) at the Louisville, Ky., track. Three other stakes are on the Saturday card, but the Iroquois, with all of its potential, is the main draw. Michele and Cliff Love's homebred Damon's Mound (Girvin) is 2-for-2, having rolled to a 3 1/4-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course after a runaway debut win going six furlongs at Churchill Downs July 2. The 1 1/16-mile Iroquois marks the longest start of his career, as it does for the eight other 2-year-olds entered. "He's done everything right since we got him into our barn this spring," trainer Michelle Lovell said. "He has the mind of an older horse and that's what makes him so special. The Loves have been in this game for a very long time, and it's very rewarding they are able to have a horse like him, especially being a homebred. The two turns in the Iroquois (are) obviously a test, but he's passed his others we've given him with flying colors. I think this is the next progression to take." Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Again (Gun Runner) has started just a single time. His debut resulted in a front-running 6 3/4-length victory at Saratoga Aug. 20, in which he ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.89. "We're extremely excited about who this horse is," Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said. "It's a family affair. He came from mom and dad's farm in Laredo, Texas. He was my son Erik's favorite horse all winter and (son) Keith's favorite all summer. He gets on him regularly. It was a very meaningful victory." Reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario rides Echo Again, while regular jockey Gabe Saez is aboard Damon's Mound. Curly Jack and Jace's Road top the opposition. A graded winner is also in the 1 1/16-mile Pocahontas in Holy Cow Stable's Naughty Gal (Into Mischief), who took the Adirondack Stakes (G3) this summer at Saratoga. She seeks to rebound after she tired to ninth two weeks ago in the seven-furlong Spinaway Stakes (G1) for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. She faces 11 2-year-old fillies, with Three Chimneys Farm's debut winner Grand Love likely to start as the favorite. Echo Again's barnmate and also by Gun Runner, she led throughout in winning a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race in 1:17.93 at Saratoga in her only race Aug. 21. Fun and Feisty and Justa Warrior are other contenders. The Pocahontas is the last race on the card at 5:58 p.m. ET, a little more than an hour after the Iroquois goes to post as the ninth race at 4:55 p.m. The Iroquois and Pocahontas are part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen program, which provides partial entry fees for their 1-2-3 finishers toward Breeders' Cup races on dirt Nov. 4 at Keeneland.