The Empire Classic ($300.000 Purse)
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward Foaled in NY
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
October 20, 2018

In late June, Joffre finished fourth in a four horse field in a CD optional claimer. He had been placed in high level stakes such as the SA Derby before that, so its safe to say that Mb Stables was disappointed with the run. After about five weeks, the trainer made the decision to geld Joffre. The results have been outstanding, as he is now a perfect three-for-three, and showing a stretch desire that he had not before. His prior win was a graded win on the grass, and now he shows versatility winning this race on the main track. For Mb Stables, it is his third win in the stake, having also won in 2014 and 2016, with War Scent first, and then Final Tune. Aboard the winner was P Lopez, his first Empire Classic win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:47.85, the second quickest in stake history. Here’s a look at it.

(½ Mile- :46.97)- Initially out of the gate, Cubby Rays gets his outside push for Team 7 Illusions and leads the first quarter of the race. However, that lead would be short lived, as Joffre, our eventual winner from Mb Stables, took over the lead at about that point. He was not as explosive out of the gate, but made his move soon after, and after a half mile, he had suddenly opened up by two lengths. Cubby Rays could not keep up. Another horse in the mix early on was Captain Oats, also out of Mb Stables. The captain was within a length of Cubby Rays out of the gate, though started to lose ground to him, and let his stablemate get up there and run for the lead instead. He’d be fourth after a half mile. Slipping into the third position would be Nice Distorted Laff, from Night Rider Stables, who had a steady start, and was about to make the pass of Cubby Rays for second. In the middle of the pack would be Handsome (D J C Racing Stables), Cut The General (On The Map Racing), and American Ideal (Nakamura Stables). They were within four lengths of the lead, and American Ideal seemed to have the best potential lane out of the group. Trailing was Custer Of The West (Night Rider Stables) and Highest Esteem (Axeman).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.46)- Midway through the turn, Joffre was continuing to pour it on, and the lead was now two and a half lengths. He was looking quite strong on the lead at this time. Nice Distorted Laff had moved into second, and Captain Oats third. Cubby Rays was beginning to drop out of it at this point. Back further, only American Ideal began to make a push forward, escaping the two he had been running with, and moving into a three wide position to get to the outside of Cubby Rays.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Joffre continues to lead the field, as he handled the turn well and emerged with a lead just under two lengths. He still seemed to be in good stride at this point, so it was looking the rest of the field may have let him get away. Nice Distorted Laff was making very gradual progress, but seemed as though he would need more at this point. Looking strong on the outside was American Ideal, who was great in the turn, and had cut his deficit to three and a half lengths. As good as it was, it seemed like he too, would run out of time. Handsome tried to move forward on exit of the turn as well, but did not have the same power in his stride as did American Ideal. Custer Of The West was starting to come on through. Cubby Rays had dropped back, and both Cut The General and Highest Esteem were lacking response.

(Finish- 1:47.85)- In the stretch, Joffre picks up the win, but we ended up with a far more exciting finish then we were expecting. He was able to run good enough, as a hard charge from American Ideal nearly caught him. You have to think that if it was not for the geld, that he would have never held on for this win. Kudos to American Ideal on making a great bid, and forcing the stewards to look at a close photo to determine the winner. Nice Distorted Laff ran very well, too, and was within half a length of the win. These three pulled away from the rest of the field. Custer Of The West saw his closing bid get him the fourth place check, topping Handsome and Captain Oats, who were okay, but not great in the stretch. The remaining three: Cut The General, Highest Esteem, and Cubby Rays, were afterthoughts.

About The Winner- Joffre, trained by Mb Stables, and ridden to victory by P Lopez, is a three year old gelding by Condottieri, and out of Lilith. That’s the same mare who produced Kavorka. He was bred in New York as a first quarter two year old by Jerry Garcia Racing and acquired after one career race by Mb Stables in the June 2017 auction for $43.580. Congratulations to the connections! The win is sixth in 16 starts, and third consecutive. It is his second stake win.

Track: Fast
Time: :46⁴  1:10²  1:34⁴  1:47⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 8 Paid 36.90
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 8 – 3 Paid 41.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded