Echo Town
As many as five sons of Speightstown, including the consistently progressive Munnings, have sired northern hemisphere Gr.1 winners. Echo Town is well qualified to join them, as he decisively landed the H. Allen Jerkens Stakes at Saratoga – a race won in the past by such as Practical Joke, Drefong, Runhappy, Hard Spun, Henny Hughes, More Than Ready and Tale Of The Cat. That victory was the fourth of Echo Town’s career and he was also second in the Gr.1 Woody Stephens Stakes.
Echo Town is one of several Graded winners by Speightstown with inbreeding to Storm Cat. Speightstown is out of a daughter of Storm Cat and Echo Town’s second line comes via his Gr.2-winning dam Letgomyecho, who is by a son of Harlan, sire of the very successful Harlan’s Holiday and grandsire of Champion Sire Into Mischief. Letgomyecho now has a second Gr.1 winner to her credit in 2021’s champion 2yo filly Echo Zulu (by Gun Runner).
As a leading winner over seven furlongs, Echo Town has a similar profile to Munnings, Speightstown’s most successful stallion son. Echo Town’s female line has produced Stakes winners to two sons of A.P. INDY, so it is very relevant that Munnings has sired the Gr.2 winners Finite and Bonny South from daughters of champion sire TAPIT, as well as Graded winners from daughters of A.P. INDY and BERNARDINI. His statistics stand at 8% black-type winners from TAPIT mares and 25% from A.P. INDY mares. Speightstown owes his Gr.1 winner Lexitonian to a TAPIT mare.
Munnings also has 33% black-type winners among his nine foals out of mares by A.P. INDY’s son FLATTER. Speightstown’s seven black-type winners out of daughters of A.P. INDY include four Graded winners, headed by Gr.1 winner Flagstaff. Mares with A.P. INDY blood should therefore suit Echo Town very well.
Echo Town’s Keeneland stakes-winning daughter Echo Sound is out of a mare by MR PROPECTOR’s son FUSAICHI PEGASUS and is therefore inbred 4x3 to the great stallion. Speightstown has several good performers inbred either 3x3 or 3x4 to MR PROSPECTOR, including Travers Stakes winner Golden Ticket, Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz, dual Gr.1 winner Charlatan, Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Olympiad and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing. Munnings has the Gr.2 winner Venetian Harbor out of a STREET CRY, who also sired the dam of Speightstown’s Gr.3 winner Barbados. Munnings also has black-type winners from the UNBRIDLED, GONE WEST, SMART STRIKE, FORTY NINER and KINGMAMBO branches, with the very talented Jack Christopher being out of a grand-daughter of UNBRIDLED’S SONG, while the smart miler Warrior’s Charge has a dam by BROKEN VOW.
Munnings’ 2yo Gr.1 winner Eda has a dam by LEMON DROP KID.
Echo Town is inbred 3x4 to STORM CAT. SCAT DADDY mares would be a safe means of introducing extra lines of STORM CAT and MR PROSPECTOR, creating 4x4 to Mr Prospector and 4x5x5 to STORM CAT. Munnings has Graded winners out of daughters of TABASCO CAT, FREUD, GIANT’S CAUSEWAY and AFTER MARKET. Mares by these sons of STORM CAT would produce 4x5x3 to STORM CAT with Echo Town. Munnings’ first few starters out of INTO MISCHIEF mares include Listed winner Swill.
Munnings sired his first Gr.1 winner, I’m A Chatterbox, from a grand-daughter of DANZIG and the Gr.3 winner Munny Spunt from a HARD SPUN mare. Mares from the DANZIG male line should also suit Echo Town.
Speightstown sired the Gr.1 winners Jersey Town and Seek Again from mares by BELONG TO ME and DANEHILL and Speightstown also has Graded winners out of daughters of DANZIG, HARD SPUN, DAYJUR, ZIETEN, ORPEN, HONOR GRADES and SEA HERO. Echo Town should thrive with speedy daughters of such as WAR FRONT, LANGFUHR, EXCHANGE RATE and WAR CHANT.
Echo Town has stakes winner Elegant Echo from a mare by VIOLENCE, whose sire MEDAGLIA D’ORO is broodmare sire of four of
Speightstown’s Gr.1 winners. Speightstown sired another Gr.1 winner from a grand-daughter of SADLER’S WELLS, by PERFECT SOUL. Munnings has a Gr.2 winner with a dam by EL PRADO along with four BTWs with mares by MEDAGLIA D’ORO. Daughters of KITTEN’S JOY are another option for Echo Town.
The DEPUTY MINISTER branch has plenty of potential, as Speightstown sired the Travers Stakes winner Golden Ticket from a DEPUTY MINISTER mare and he is also one of three sons of Gone West to have sired a Gr.1 winner from mares by sons of Deputy Minister. Munnings has had stakes success with mares by SALT LAKE and SILVER DEPUTY.
BLUSHING GROOM sired the second dams of Speightstown’s Gr.1 winners Seek Again and Lord Shanakill, and Speightstown also has stakes winners out of daughters of RAHY, MT LIVERMORE, RAINBOW QUEST and PEAKS AND VALLEYS.
Speightstown has two black-type winners out of INDIAN CHARLIE mares, including the speedy Gr.1 winner Switzerland. Daughters of UNCLE MO could suit Echo Town, as Munnings’ Gr.1-winning son Howard Wolowitz has a dam by UNCLE MO.