Extra Anejo, arguably the most exciting 2-year-old trained by Steve Asmussen, is currently sidelined, but the young equine talent in the stable of the Hall of Fame trainer is not bare. He still has a number of promising juveniles who could develop into Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prospects.
One such youngster is Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Again, who takes a step on the Road to the Kentucky Derby when he races in the $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile Dec. 17 at Remington Park. Officially, he shows one victory from two starts—though he actually started one more time at Churchill Downs during its fall meet in a race that didn't go down in official records.
Racing Oct. 30 in the eighth race in a 1 1/16-mile race in the slop, he looked poised leaving the second turn to win—only to be pulled up in the stretch (along with the rest of the field) when the race was called off due to a fallen rider being in potential danger when on the racetrack just past the finish.
Though a running line from that race does not appear in past performances, those that witnessed the race are likely to hold the view that Echo Again was looking like he was going to bounce back from a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Sept. 17 Iroquois Stakes (G3), his first start around two turns. With his competitive effort before the field was pulled up, he showed some of the promise he flashed on debut, when he blitzed 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.89 at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 20.
Ricardo Santana Jr. rides for Asmussen, a six-time winner of the Springboard Mile. He was aboard Asmussen's last winner, Shoplifted , in 2019.
Echo Again, a gray by Gun Runner , is well drawn in post 1 with a short run to the first of two turns.
He closed at 45-1 odds in the second pool in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager that took place late last month.
He was not the only Springboard Mile competitor to take action in that wager. Giant Mischief was backed to 27-1 odds after pushing his record to 2-for-2 with a three-quarter length victory in a fast Keeneland allowance Nov. 4.
After winning his debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis, he took that race on the undercard on the first of two Breeders' Cup days, turning back favored Arabian Lion and stopping the clock in 1:22.30 for seven furlongs.
His pedigree tilts toward speed, being by Into Mischief out of the graded stakes-winning sprinter Vertical Oak, whose most prestigious victory came in the six-furlong Prioress Stakes (G2) at Saratoga in 2017.
Florent Geroux has the mount on the Brad Cox trainee.
The Springboard Mile field further includes the 1-2 finishers from seven-furlong Clever Trevor Stakes Oct. 28—Wildatlanticstorm and Campfire Creed. That duo also met in the six-furlong Kip Deville Stakes Sept. 25, with Campfire Creed topping the exacta that time over Wildatlanticstorm.
The Remington Springboard Mile is a qualifier on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, though only three horses—Echo Again, Gunflash, and Campfire Creed—are eligible to earn qualifying points. The remaining six entrants race with the diuretic Lasix, which is prohibited in the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs officials require that all horses race without Lasix, a medication used by horsemen to prevent respiratory bleeding but that critics say can improve performance, to earn points on the Road to the Derby.
Points are distributed on a 10-4-3-2-1 basis for first through fifth place to eligible horses.
Remington Park, Saturday, December 17, 2022, Race 12Entries: Remington Springboard Mile S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Echo Again (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 121 Steven M. Asmussen 9/5 2 2Gunflash (KY) Cristian A. Torres 121 Karl Broberg 15/1 3 3Campfire Creed (KY) Gerardo Mora 121 Danny Pish 5/1 4 4Lil Sweet Thang (TX) Luis S. Quinonez 121 Donnie K. Von Hemel 12/1 5 5Giant Mischief (KY) Florent Geroux 121 Brad H. Cox 3/1 6 6American Outlaw (KY) Jose L. Alvarez 121 Todd W. Fincher 15/1 7 7Ghost Hero (OK) Floyd Wethey Jr. 121 Jayde J. Gelner 15/1 8 8Money Run (KY) Stewart Elliott 121 Steven M. Asmussen 12/1 9 9Wildatlanticstorm (IA) Leandro D. Goncalves 121 H. Ray Ashford, Jr. 6/1
