Classic Empire (horse)

Background

Classic Empire is a bay colt with a white star, stripe, and snip, and a white sock on his left hind leg. He was bred by Steven and Brandi Nicholson. He is by Pioneerof the Nile, best known as the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Classic Empire's dam, Sambuca Classica, had previously produced three foals, all of them winners.

Classic Empire was purchased at the Keeneland September 2015 sale as a yearling for $475,000 by John C. Oxley. He is trained by Mark Casse.

2016: two-year-old season

Classic Empire debuted on May 4 in a Maiden Special Weight race at Churchill Downs. Sent off as the 1-2 favorite and ridden by jockey Julien Leparoux, he broke slowly and had to rally from the back of the field, but went on to win by 1 1/2 lengths on a track rated as sloppy.

He then started in the Grade III Bashford Manor Stakes on July 2. He was the second choice behind the 1-2 favorite, Recruiting Ready. After getting another poor start, he stayed at the back for most of the race, and moved into contention at the head of the stretch. He then steadily closed ground on Recruiting Ready, and won by  ³⁄₄ of a length. Recruiting Ready was nine lengths ahead of the third place-finisher, Tip Tap Tapizar. Classic Empire's assistant trainer, Norman Casse, (son of trainer Mark Casse) stated after the race: “The way that he breezes and trains in the morning, he's much more effective when he's able to go out and relax and settle into stride. Sprinting is obviously not something where you get to do that. So going forward, I think he's definitely going to be much more effective around two turns. He’s still a little shy, and you could tell when he broke, he broke in a little bit.”

Due to his Bashford Manor Stakes win, he was made the favorite for the Grade I Hopeful Stakes on September 5. He was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., as Leparoux was sidelined with a broken wrist. Classic Empire again began slowly, then wheeled sharply to the right, unseating Ortiz. He pulled himself up at the outside rail, then was vanned off the track for mild lameness. He was reported to be in good shape shortly after the race.

His connections then announced that he would start in the Grade I Breeders' Futurity Stakes at Keeneland on October 10, where they also said he would wear blinkers for the first time. Classic Empire was made the favorite, and Leparoux was back aboard him. Classic Empire broke quickly this time, and stalked the early front runners before making a strong move around the turn, pulling away to win by three lengths. After the win, Leparoux said; “Today he broke sharp and was all business. He ran a big race. I was a bit surprised to be where I was, but he did it easy and he was happy where he was. He got a little bit tired at the end, but he hasn’t been running for a while, so we expected that.”

Classic Empire was then entered in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on November 5, which was run at Santa Anita, in a race that was considered wide open. Classic Empire was ridden by Leparoux again, and he was the second choice behind Not This Time, who had won the Iroquois Stakes by over eight lengths in his previous start. The field also included Grade I winners Klimt (Del Mar Futurity), Gormley (FrontRunner Stakes), and Practical Joke (Hopeful Stakes and Champagne Stakes). Classic Empire broke cleanly and settled half a length behind Syndergaard, who set a fast pace, and continued to press the pace until the far turn, when he took the lead and pulled clear to lead by three lengths. As they entered the stretch, Classic Empire had to withstand a late charge from Not This Time, but he prevailed to win by a neck, with a time of 1:42.60. Practical Joke was more than seven lengths back in third. "He broke sharp and I put him in the race right away," Leparoux said. "I tried to open up coming to the quarter pole, which he did and held off Not This Time. We really love him and we knew he was going to run good, so I'm glad we got the win." Casse said: "I thought at the top of the lane he was going to win easily. Then it got pretty close, but Dale Romans (trainer of Not This Time) said all along it was going to be us two and it was quite a deal. I have been been doing this for 37 years and I thought his race in the Bashford Manor was as good as any two-year-old I've ever trained. But what amazes me is this horse's ability to have such a high cruising speed. And maybe that's another thing that makes this so special. He's an extremely, extremely smart horse, and he tends to see things that maybe others don't, and you never know what he's going to do."

The close finish made Classic Empire and Not This Time the early co-favorites in the Kentucky Derby future wagering. Two weeks after the Breeders Cup, it was announced that Not This Time would be retired due to an injury, which made Classic Empire the sole early Kentucky Derby favorite.

On January 21, 2017, Classic Empire was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse of 2016, receiving all of the 248 votes. This made him one of only three Eclipse Award winners that night to be named unanimously, along with California Chrome (Champion Older Dirt Horse), and Songbird (Champion Three-Year-Old Filly).

2017: three-year-old season

Classic Empire began serious training in early January, with the February 4th Holy Bull Stakes being his early target. Classic Empire entered the race with a relatively short work tab, with only four workouts in a span of twenty days. He started as the 0.50 favorite in a field of seven other three-year-olds, which also included multiple graded stakes winner Gunnevera (2016 Saratoga Special and Delta Downs Jackpot) and the promising chestnut colt Irish War Cry (2016 Maylander Stakes winner). Classic Empire was noticeably washy before the race, and was reluctant to load into the starting gate. He broke a step inwardly, and moved up into third place on the first turn, behind the front-running Irish War Cry and maiden race winner Talk Logistics. He stayed in third place until the far turn, when he moved into second due to strong urging from Leparoux, but never got within two lengths of Irish War Cry. He flattened out in the stretch to finish a non-threatening third, 5 lengths behind Gunnevera, and 8 3/4 lengths behind Irish War Cry. Casse stated after the race: "He gets a little hot, but maybe he was hotter than normal today, so I don't know. We will regroup. He had no excuse that way (in where he was positioned); none whatsoever. They kind of tried to pin him in a little bit on the first turn and Julien used a little bit of him. We had a good trip." Leparoux said of the race: “We had a good trip. I got in the clear on the first turn and there was really no excuse. He came back good and we’ll see what happens. He got a little bit warm [warming up] but after that we got a good trip and every chance and he just didn’t kick at the end."

Although Classic Empire seemed to come out of the race in good order, Casse subsequently discovered an abscess on the right front hoof. "One thing about this horse is he is very tough. He never gave us any indication, but it's one thing when you're walking and you're jogging at a slow pace. It's another when you're running at 40 miles per hour," said Casse. "This is not something that just popped up. It had to have been brewing. I wonder if that's why he got so upset and didn't run better." Although Casse originally expected a quick return to normal training, the abscess was slow to heal, meaning that the Fountain of Youth is no longer under consideration for Classic Empire's next start. "If need be, we could go with one more race into the Derby," he said. "He won the Breeders' Futurity off a layoff, really, considering he didn't run at all in the Hopeful, and then came back and won the Breeders' Cup."

Race Record

Source: Equibase charts. An asterisk before the odds means Classic Empire was the post-time favorite.

Pedigree

Classic Empire is inbred 5 x 4 to Mr. Prospector, meaning Mr. Prospector appears once in the fifth generation as the sire of Fappiano and once in the fourth generation of Classic Empire's pedigree. He is also inbred 5 x 5 to Raise a Native, and 5 x 5 to Northern Dancer.