2020 Eclipse Awards: Serengeti Empress

After Serengeti Empress won just one of eight starts following her signature victory in the 2019 Kentucky Oaks, trainer Tom Amoss decided it was time for a change midway through 2020. Amoss shortened the distances for the dark bay 4-year-old filly, and the results made Serengeti Empress an Eclipse finalist for top filly-mare sprinter as well as older dirt female.

Turning back to seven furlongs in the Grade 1 Ballerina on the Aug. 8 Travers card at Saratoga following a pair of disappointing two-turn performances, Serengeti Empress wasn’t particularly sharp at the break – yet sped to the lead soon thereafter en route to a hard-earned triumph under Luis Saez.

“She broke a step slow, but she was able to catch back up and gain position, and being able to do that was important,” Amoss said afterward. “I was very nervous she had done too much early, but today she showed just how much grit she has.”

Serengeti Empress then closed out her career with two more races at seven furlongs. She was beaten a nose by Bell’s the One in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff on the Sept. 5 undercard of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, then was second to Gamine after leading to the top of the stretch in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland.

:: Full list of 2020 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

Serengeti Empress, owned by Columbus, Ohio, orthopedic surgeon Joel Politi, was purchased for $70,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale, going 3 for 5 with two stakes romps as a 2-year-old. She raced seven times at 3, with her wire-to-wire Oaks score highlighting a season in which she also won the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra and finished second in the Grade 1 Acorn and Grade 1 Test and third in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita.

Her 2020 began well enough, as she was second in the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic and won the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn Park. But she was soundly beaten in Apple Blossom and Fleur de Lis, leading to the distance change. Following the Ballerina, Amoss said: “She’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Politi seriously considered selling Serengeti Empress at auction following the Breeders’ Cup before deciding to keep her for his broodmare band. She will be bred early this year to Into Mischief.

Bred in Kentucky by Tri Eques Bloodstock, Serengeti Empress was sired by Alternation and produced by Havisham, by Bernardini. She retires with seven wins and earnings of $2,175,653.

Besides Saez, who rode her in the Ballerina and Breeders’ Cup, Amoss employed three other jockeys on Serengeti Empress in 2020 – Flavien Prat, Joe Talamo, and Tyler Gaffalione.