GII Risen Star S. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Classic Empire’s Angel Of Empire Sprouts Wings In Risen Star

Represented by a trio of well-meant sophomores in Saturday's GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds–including the top two favorites–trainer Brad Cox's march to the first Saturday in May continued with an upset victory by the Albaugh Family Stable's Angel of Empire (Classic Empire).

Second by three lengths behind his re-opposing and favored stablemate Victory Formation (Tapwrit) in the one-mile Smarty Jones S. Jan. 1, Angel of Empire raced in a ground-saving eighth as the field of 14 rounded the clubhouse turn beneath the lights. The 13-1 chance began to make his move between runners as West Coast invader Harlocap (Justify) took on pacesetter Determinedly (Cairo Prince) as previously unbeaten and forwardly placed Victory Formation began to tire following testing early fractions of :23.34 and :47.50. Two Phil's (Hard Spun), last term's GIII Street Sense S. winner, took over briefly from the tiring front runners as they straightened with Angel of Empire and his other Cox-trained stablemate Tapit's Conquest (Tapit) beginning to roll down the center with longshot Sun Thunder (Into Mischief) making a move of his own along the fence. Angel of Empire had the best final kick of them all, however, and sealed the deal by a length over the 16-1 Sun Thunder. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to Two Phil's in third.

Angel of Empire, a debut winner going a mile in the Indiana slop Aug. 9, was sixth second out over the Kentucky Downs lawn Sept. 8. Freshened, Angel of Empire returned a dominant winner in an Indiana allowance prior to his aforementioned runner-up performance in Hot Springs. The Risen Star was his first attempt beyond a mile. He earned 50 points for a new total of 54 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, putting him at the top of the leaderboard.

“Physically, it looks like he can run all day,” said Cox, who earlier in the program scored the 2,000th win of his career. “We could see that last summer when we got him ready to run. We started him a mile at Indiana and it worked out. We had a little pace to run at today and it worked out well. It's five weeks to the Louisiana Derby and we'll look at that, all the Grade 1s will be in the conversation. We'll let the dust settle and see how he comes out of it. This is a horse that we thought as the months go by he'll get better and he has.”

Pedigree Notes:

Angel of Empire made it four graded winners and two on the day for young sire Classic Empire. His dam Armony's Angel, a maiden of eight career starts, is also represented by the 2-year-old colt Third City (Collected) ($23,000 FTKJUL yearling purchase by Kenneth R. Kachel) and a yearling colt by Classic Empire. Armony's Angel, a half-sister to GSW Conquest Big E (Tapit), brought $67,000 from co-breeder Black Diamond Corp. carrying her first foal Angel of Empire at the 2019 KEENOV sale. Angel of Empire becomes the first stakes/graded winner for his broodmare sire To Honor and Serve.

Saturday, Fair Grounds
RISEN STAR S. PRESENTED BY LAMARQUE LINCOLN AND LAMARQUE CRESCENT CITY FORD-GII, $400,000, Fair Grounds, 2-18, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:51.47, ft.
1–ANGEL OF EMPIRE, 122, c, 3, by Classic Empire
                1st Dam: Armony's Angel, by To Honor and Serve
                2nd Dam: Seeinsbelieven, by Carson City
                3rd Dam: Coragil, by Metfield
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($32,000
RNA Wlg '20 KEENOV; $70,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Albaugh
Family Stables LLC; B-Forgotten Land Investment Inc & Black
Diamond Equine Corp (PA); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis Saez.
$240,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $330,000. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sun Thunder, 122, c, 3, Into Mischief–Greenfield d'Oro,
by Medaglia d'Oro. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK
TYPE. ($400,000 Wlg '20 FTKNOV; $495,000 RNA Ylg '21
FTSAUG). O-R.T Racing Stable & Cypress Creek Equine;
B-Southern Equine Stables, LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek.
$80,000.
3–Two Phil's, 122, c, 3, Hard Spun–Mia Torri,
by General Quarters. ($150,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP).
O-Patricia's Hope LLC & Phillip Sagan; B-Phillip Sagan (KY);
T-Larry Rivelli. $40,000.
Margins: 1, 1 3/4, HF. Odds: 13.70, 16.60, 5.70.
Also Ran: Tapit's Conquest, Single Ruler, Harlocap, Crupi, Curly Jack, Victory Formation, Shaq Diesel, Silver Heist, Private Creed, Quiet as Midnight, Determinedly.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Sophomore ‘Stars’ Line Up at Fair Grounds Saturday

The road to the Triple Crown heats up in New Orleans Saturday with the GII Risen Star S. and GII Rachel Alexandra S.

A full field of 14 will line up in the former, led by unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Victory Formation (Tapwrit). One of three entered for Brad Cox, the 3-1 morning-line favorite heads to the post off a front-running tally over stablemate Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) in the Smarty Jones S. going a mile at Oaklawn Jan. 1.

Drawn on the outside in post 13, Victory Formation figures to have plenty of company on the front end if similar tactics are employed in this first attempt at 1 1/8 miles.

“I think he should be able to break well and get a good position,” Cox said. “I'm not too worried about the outside post. He's very quick from the gate and broke really sharp in all three of his starts. Obviously, Flavien [Prat] is a great rider; we're not going to give him too many instructions, and he rode him last time so he does know the horse.”

Cox will also saddle second-choice Tapit's Conquest (Tapit), who looks primed for a breakthrough performance following a strong second with a less-than-ideal trip behind the re-opposing Determinedly (Cairo Prince) in his sophomore debut at Fair Grounds Jan. 21.

“I think he got a lot out of it and he hadn't run since October,” Cox said. “He needed the last race, he's still learning. He didn't really get involved as much as we'd like last time, but ultimately came running, and I think he got a lot out of it from an educational standpoint. He should love a mile and an eighth even more.”

Only two Risen Star entrants–Curly Jack (Good Magic) and Two Phil's (Hard Spun)–have posted wins versus graded stakes company so far.

Curly Jack, winner of the GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 17 and a well-beaten fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, capped his 2-year-old campaign with a very good second behind subsequent GIII Lecomte S. winner Instant Coffee (Bolt d'Oro) in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 26. Last term's GIII Street Sense S. winner Two Phil's, meanwhile, completed the exacta in the Lecomte last time.

The six-deep Rachel Alexandra is headlined by the highly regarded Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief), who puts a perfect three-for-three record on the line. She concluded her juvenile campaign with a dominating win in Churchill's GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 26.

“We have a lot of expectations for her based on what she's done so far, so there's a lot of anticipation about how she's going to come back at three,” trainer Tom Amoss said. “Her morning preparation has been just as it was when she was two, so that gives us some feeling of confidence going into the race. But still, it is just her first race at three.”

Hoosier Philly closed at 11-1 in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4, the third choice in wagering.

“That's just noise,” Amoss said. “We're not looking at anything other than this race right now.”

The 13-race card at Fair Grounds also includes the GIII Mineshaft S. and GIII Fair Grounds S.

There are four other graded stakes around the country Saturday–the GIII Royal Delta S. at Gulfstream; the GIII Barbara Fritchie S. and GIII General George S. at Laurel; and the GIII Razorback H. at Oaklawn.

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Epicenter Makes His Way to Ashford Stud

Grade I winner Epicenter (Not This Time), who suffered a displaced condylar fracture to his right front leg during the running of the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, on Friday was sent to Coolmore's Ashford Stud near Versailles, KY, where he will stand his first season at stud this year, Winchell Thorougbreds racing manager David Fiske tweeted. The winner of last year's GI Runhappy Travers. S. and GII Jim Dandy S. had been recuperating from the injury and subsequent surgery, conducted by Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital Nov. 6, at Rebecca Maker's Shantera Farm.

Epicenter, who also won the GII Risen Star S. and finished second behind Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in the GI Kentucky Derby and Early Voting (Gun Runner) in the GI Preakness S. for trainer Steve Asmussen, ended his career with a record of 11-6-3-0 and $2,940,639 in earnings. He is a finalist for the Eclipse Award as 2022's top 3-year-old male.

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Lifetime Breeding Right to Girvin Offered at Fasig-Tipton July

Fasig-Tipton has added seven supplemental entries to Monday's July Selected Horses of All Ages sale including a lifetime breeding right to young stallion Girvin (Tale of Ekati-Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) as HIP 611. The freshman sire is off to a quick start at stud with his first crop of two-year-olds in 2022, siring five winners from eight runners to date. These include the undefeated Devious Dame, who captured the Astoria S. at Belmont on June 9 in a 5 1/4-length romp. Girvin sired two more maiden special weight winners this past weekend include Damon's Mound, who was named a 'TDN Rising Star' following his 12 1/2-length debut win at Churchill Downs July 2. A debut winner himself as a 2-year-old, Girvin won the GI Haskell, GII Risen Star S., and the GII Louisiana Derby at three on his way to career earnings of more than $1.6 million. He is a half-brother to graded stakes winners Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John), and Pirate's Punch (Shanghai Bobby). His immediate family includes Grade I winners Silver Max (Badge of Silver) and Yes It's True (Is It True).

“The lifetime breeding right to Girvin is an exciting, unique addition to this year's sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “It offers breeders an opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a stallion with unlimited potential.”

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