Angel of Empire (foaled April 9, 2020) is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse who won the

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. In 2004, t ...

Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Plantation may refer to: *Oaklawn (Huntsville, Alabama), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) *Oaklawn Plantation (Leon County, Florida) *Oaklawn Plantation (Natchez, Louisiana) The Oaklawn Plantation is a historic pl ...

and

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Risen Star Stakes The Risen Star Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt run annually in February, usually during the President's Day weekend at Fair Grounds Race Course i ...

at the Fair Grounds in 2023 as a three-year-old.

Background

Angel of Empire is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

colt that was bred in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

by Forgotten Land Investment and Black Diamond Equine and bought by the Albaugh family for $70,000 from the Warrendale consignment at the 2021

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

September Yearling Sale. He is the first foal from the To Honor and Serve mare Armony's Angel. Angel of Empire was also a $32,000 (Reserve Not Attained) at the 2020

November Mixed Sale when consigned by agent St. George Sales. He was sired by

Classic Empire Classic Empire (foaled March 21, 2014) is a retired American Thoroughbred race horse who was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse of 2016 after winning the Breeders' Futurity Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. After several setba ...

, winner of the 2016

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup ...

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

and also won the

in 2017.

stands at

Ashford Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is headquarters of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The operat ...

for $15,000 in 2023. His dam Armony's Angel was winless in eight start but she's a daughter of sire To Honor and Serve who won of the

Nashua Stakes The Nashua Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds over a distance of one mile on the main dirt track scheduled annually in late October or early November usually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The ev ...

and

Remsen Stakes The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of ...

running long distances as a juvenile. Angel of Empire is trained by

Brad H. Cox Brad H. Cox (born March 3, 1980) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include multiple Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl, Knicks Go, Covfefe, Mandaloun, and Essential Quality. He had four winners at the 2020 Breeders' C ...

Racing career

2022: two-year-old season

Angel of Empire ran three times in 2022 for two wins at

Horseshoe Indianapolis Horseshoe Indianapolis (formerly Indiana Grand Racing & Casino and Indiana Live!) is a casino with a horse racing track in Shelbyville, Indiana owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment (2020), Caesars Entertainment. It is the closest casino to ...

. His lone defeat was on the turf track at

Kentucky Downs Kentucky Downs is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee, in the city of Franklin, Kentucky, just off Interstate 65. It is unique among American tracks in that it is a European-style course—its su ...

2023: three-year-old season

Angel of Empire began his three-year-old campaign on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

in the one mile Listed Smarty Jones Stakes finishing second by three lengths to odds-on favorite Victory Formation. Trainer Bad Cox sent Angel of Empire to New Orleans when he stunned a full field of fourteen in the

winning by one length at odds of nearly 14/1. Angel of Empire returned to Oaklawn Park where he finished strongly to win the

, a

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

event by lengths in a time of 1:49.68 and easily qualifying for the

2023 Kentucky Derby The 2023 Kentucky Derby (officially the 2023 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby. It took place on May 6, 2023, the first Saturday in May, in Louisville, Kentucky. The race was open to 20 h ...

Statistics

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
An (*) asterisk after the odds means Angel of Empire was the post-time favorite.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist, 2 2020 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Pennsylvania Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 26 American Grade 1 Stakes winners