An exciting weekend of racing will continue into this Monday, with the G3 2023 Winning Colors Stakes headlining an action-packed Memorial Day card at Churchill Downs.
Six horses will head down to post for this year’s renewal, with Echo Zulu expected to be the heavy favorite for the race.
This will be Echo Zulu’s first start since finishing second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Three times a Grade 1 winner, she is the undoubted class angle of the race. Heading into the race with fitness to prove, the five other runners in the field will be hoping that they can catch her cold.
Winning Colors Stakes
Grade 3, six furlongs, Dirt. Open to fillies & mares aged four and over. Total prize pool $225,000
Legendary trainer Steve Asmussen has handpicked this race for Echo Zulu to make her four-year-old bow. A winner of her first four career starts, which included a victory in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, she has been lightly raced since.
Regarded as one of the best two-year-old fillies in history, she has shown no signs of losing the winning thread as she has gotten older.
Her three-year-old campaign almost ended in style when only denied by the brilliant Goodnight Olive in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Having been off track since November, big things are expected this year, and Asmussen will hope his star will be able to cement her class in these calmer waters.
With Echo Zulu expected to go off as the short-priced favorite, one of the most likely dangers could well come from the Eddie Kenneally trained Last Leaf.
Winless in her last six, she has come up against Echo Zulu in the past, finishing well behind in the 2022 Dogwood Stakes. Although clearly not in Echo Zulu’s class, she does head into the race fresh off the back of a promising second in the 2023 Roxelana Overnight Stakes. A repeat of that performance should see her make the final picture.
When looking elsewhere, another potential betting option could be Sprit Wind. She heads into the race having won four of her six career starts, including last time out in Allowance company. Her latest win was certainly attritional, and she will have to produce a career best performance to pull off the shock win.
Another last time out winner to keep a real eye on is Fire on Time. A decent winner in Allowance Company when last seen, she will want to improve on her last Grade 3 performance where she finished last in the 2023 Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie Stakes.
On paper it looks as if Scarlet Stripe has plenty to find. A winner of only one of her six career starts, she has tasted three successive defeats in Allowance company and could find this field far too classy.
Marissa’s Lady completes the lineup. A winner of three of her six starts, she is winless in her last two and looks to be another who might find this race tough. A fourth-place finish in the 2022 Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes suggests she is a horse capable of running a big race, but she could come unstuck against the class of Echo Zulu here.
2023 Winning Colors Stakes Odds & Betting Pick
With Echo Zulu the clear class angle, the main question heading into the race is not if she will but how far she will win by. In a race that looks to be short of quality, she should have way too much ability for this field and should easily come out on top here.
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds by Jazzsports |
| Spirit Wind | Brian Hernandez | Ralph Nicks | +350 |
| Scarlet Stripe | Jareth Loveberry | D Whitworth Beckman | +1500 |
| Marissa’s Lady | Rafael Bejarano | William Morey | +1000 |
| Last Leaf | Corey Lanerie | Eddie Kenneally | +800 |
| Echo Zulu | Florent Geroux | Steve Asmussen | -180 |
| Fire On Time | Martin Garcia | Dale Romans | +300 |
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