BC Juvenile Contender Smarty's Echo Breezes

Windy Hill Farm's Dixiana Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) runner-up Smarty's Echo was in action Oct. 19 at Keeneland, tuning up for a start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park.

With E.T. Baird aboard, the colt worked five furlongs in 1:00 4/5. Clockers caught the colt in splits of :12 1/5, :24 3/5, :37 1/5, and out six furlongs in 1:14 2/5.

 

Anne P. Smith trains Smarty's Echo, a son of Smarty Jones   who was 2 3/4 lengths behind We Miss Artie in the Oct. 5 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity on the Keeneland Polytrack.

 

The 1 1/16-mile Dixiana Breeders' Futurity marked the third start for Smarty's Echo, who began his career at Arlington Park with a third and a win. He took the lead entering the stretch last time out, but then was passed by We Miss Artie.

 

"Every race he's learning, learning, learning," Smith said about Smarty's Echo. "The owners have goals to try to get a horse there (to the Breeders' Cup), and I think this horse can compete."

 

Smith, in her second year of training, has horses at Keeneland for the first time. Her eight runners include Windy Hill's grade II winner Nate's Mineshaft.

 

Smith said Smarty's Echo, a $15,000 graduate of the 2011 Keeneland November breeding stock sale and a $45,000 purchase from the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky select yearling sale, is scheduled to work again Oct. 26 and will travel to California the following day.