CLASSIC Empire stands at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, and breeders who are considering, or have decided, to use him this year at $15,000 will have been thrilled to see members of his first two crops win graded stakes in the past week.

A son of Pioneerof The Nile (Empire Maker) bred by Steven and Brandi Nicholson, Classic Empire sold as a yearling to John Oxley for $475,000, and 15 months later was crowned champion juvenile colt in the USA, having won four of his five starts, culminating with victory in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, defeating Not This Time and Practical Joke.

Raced just four times at three, he claimed the $1 million, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, and was beaten a head by Cloud Computing in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes. Classic Empire retired to stud with his fee priced at $35,000, and his first crop, now four-year-olds, includes seven stakes winners, three of them at graded stakes level.

The filly Classy Edition is one of that group, and she could well become her sire’s first Grade 1 winner. Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, she was purchased as a two-year-old at Fasig-Tipton by Lawana and Robert Low and races in their silks. Unbeaten at two in three starts, including a pair of minor stakes, Classy Edition only started twice last year and was runner-up in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes.

Back again now at four, she has won both her outings his year, and last weekend annexed the Grade 3 Royal Delta Stakes. A talented runner, she is going the right way.

Classy Edition is one of three winners out of Newbie, a winning daughter of Bernardini (A.P. Indy), and the others are the multiple stakes winner Newly Minted (Central Banker), successful in half of her 12 starts with earnings or more than $500,000, and the seven-time winner and stakes-placed New Girl In Town (Boys At Tosconova).

Best runner

Grade 2 American Derby winner Union Avenue (Gone West) and Grade 1-placed Golden Post (Golden Act) appear in the fourth remove of the pedigree, so it is highly likely that Classy Edition will become the best runner in the family, given her progression to date.

Meanwhile, Angel Of Empire is the sole stakes winner to date from Classic Empire’s second crop. He won two of his three starts at two, was runner-up in a stakes race on his first run in 2023, and has now graduated to winning the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes.

He races for Albaugh Family Stable who paid just $70,000 for him as a yearling. Trained by Brad Cox, Angel Of Empire has already won $330,000 and is now a live classic hope.

In fact, Angel Of Empire’s 54 Road to the Kentucky Derby points took him to the top of the leader board, 14 points better than the next on the list. He was bred in Pennsylvania by Forgotten Land Investment and Black Diamond Equine.

Speaking after the win, Cox said: “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.”

First runner

Angel Of Empire is the first runner out of Armony’s Angel (To Honour And Serve), a placed half-sister to Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile winner Conquest Big E (Tapit) and the stakes winner Aquapazza (Stormy Atlantic) who has produced the stakes-placed Infringement (Temple City). The good news is that Armony’s Angel foaled a Classic Empire colt last year.

Armony’s Angel’s dam Seeinisbelieven (Carson City) is one of seven winners produced by the stakes-placed Coragil (Metfield), the best of which were Grade 2 Churchill Downs Distaff winner Softly (Binalong), and Grade 3 winner Coragil Cat (Forest Wildcat). By coincidence, Softly is also grandam of the Brad Cox-trained Victory Formation (Tapwrit), and that colt is also a Kentucky Derby hopeful this year. Would you believe it, Victory Formation won the Smarty Jones Stakes this year, beating his family relation Angel Of Empire!!