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In the final, Empressum went off as the even-money favorite. Except for a slight hiccup at the start, he impressed yet again, coming
on toward the end to triumph by a length in :19.338 under Rodrigo Vallejo, who has ridden him throughout 2021 for trainer Heath Taylor.
“He was stepping back when they opened the gates and barely just walked out,” said Holt.
Empressum was lucky in one respect, however. Having drawn the 9-post, he avoided some rough bumping that occurred inside of him among several in the field.
“This horse has tremendous focus on his job and showed his ability in the last hundred yards of the final,” said Taylor.
Holt praised Vallejo and Taylor for the job they have done with Empressum this year. The gelding is now undefeated in four starts since being gelded, turned over to Taylor, and ridden by Vallejo.
At two in 2020, Empressum won
four of seven races, but he did not win
a stakes. In his second start of 2021, he won the Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Derby-RG2, despite encountering trouble during the race.
“I’ve been a big fan of Vallejo,” said Holt. “I’ve watched him ride, and he just sits a horse like I personally think one needs to be sat on. He’s real patient and quiet on them, and he doesn’t panic. Heath’s also done a super, super, super job.”
The team had such confidence in Empressum that they supplemented him to the Ruidoso Derby.
“Over the years, you kind of learn that when a horse is in top form, it’s time to go,” said Holt. “We debated it, and we needed to work him or run him. He’s the kind of horse you can’t really hold. When he’s ready, he’s ready.
“It was a lot of money, but a lot of what he’d done in the Remington Park Derby was part of the decision. To be able to get in that kind of trouble and still win, that made me think that he might have been quite a bit better than I was hoping he was. He’s really blossomed and he’s really matured.”
Jones gives Holt much of the credit for Empressum’s success as well because Holt raised Empressum. The two men met at a Ruidoso sale, and they decided to pool their resources to breed horses. Holt had a stakes- winning Corona Cartel mare named Crazy About Corona, and Jones owned a share in the phenomenal First Down Dash.
That cross produced Crazy Down Corona, an earner of $73,162 and the dam of Empressum. Holt and Jones bred Empressum in Oklahoma. Crazy Down Corona has produced four winners from seven starters, including stakes-placed Cartel Envy.
Jockey Noe Garcia Jr. rode Valiant Stars (Valiant Hero-Cluster Of Stars TB) to second. Fred Danley trains Valiant Stars for owners J & SM Inc. and Stone Chase Stables LLC. Valiant Stars was coming off of three consecutive victories.
Bobby Cox’s homebred Jettz (One Fabulous Eagle-First To Celebrate) ran third under jockey Francisco Calderon for trainer
Juan Vazquez. Last year Jettz finished third in the Ruidoso Futurity-G1.
Completing the field were KJ Sonny P (Apollitical Jess-Tres Veses), Volcoms Class (Volcom-Lethal Class), Mahomes (Hes Relentless-Mai Corona), Karl Strauss (Foose-Babe On The Fly), Apollitical Redflash (Apollitical Jess-Chalala), Separate Sentence (Seperate Interest-Remember The Cartel) and For The Irony (Valiant Hero-Dare You To Beat Me).
Empressum returns after his victory.
RACING NEWS
Empressum’s winning connections include owners Jeff Jones and Steve Holt, trainer Heath Taylor and jockey Rodrigo Vallejo.
SPEEDHORSE July 2021 117
Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse