After many seconds, Empire of Gold breaks through in stakes
Empire of Gold, an earner of more than $500,000, won his first stakes race Jan. 7 in the Sam’s Town at Delta Downs. It was a deserving milestone for the talented horse, who in 2020 ran second in the Grade 2 Phoenix a Keeneland and fourth in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
“Finally,” said co-owner and trainer Terry Eoff. “Everyone always asks, ‘How has he earned that much money?’ A lot of seconds.”
Empire of Gold, who is now based at Sam Houston, had run second in back-to-back stakes leading up to the Sam’s Town. He was beaten just a head in the Zia Park Sprint in November and before that was the runner-up to Flash of Mischief in the David M. Vance in September at Remington Park.
In the Sam’s Town, Empire of Gold tracked Super Ocho, who was making his first start since the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in which he set the pace and finished sixth. Empire of Gold moved past the eventual runner-up in the stretch, and covered five-eighths in 57.40 seconds. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 95. Lane Luzzi was aboard for the Sam’s Town.
“We thought it was better to lay off that speed and make one run at them and Lane couldn’t have been any better,” said Eoff.
Now, Empire of Gold is set to move to turf. Eoff said he's targeting the $100,000 Colonel Power over 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass Feb. 18 at Fair Grounds. It will be a rare turf start for the son of Goldencents.
“He’s training really good right now, seems to be peaking,” Eoff said. “I need to go somewhere with him. We’ve tried him a couple of times on the grass. He ran in a stakes [at Lone Star] and his rider lost his irons out of the gate. He was eight to 10 lengths back from the start and it’s not his style. He’s always pretty close.
"I really think he can run on the grass. If he gets a good break, we’ll see what he does when he gets out good.”
Eoff said later this year, there’s a chance Empire of Gold could return to Oaklawn. He’s an allowance winner over the track and also is stakes-placed at Oaklawn.
Hall of Fame greeters
There were two Hall of Fame trainers in the winner’s circle after Oaklawn’s third race Saturday. They were there to greet jockey Keith James Asmussen, who was winning his first Oaklawn race aboard Papa Rocket. His father, Steve Asmussen, was in the enclosure standing alongside D. Wayne Lukas, for whom Keith James rode winner Papa Rocket.
It was a full-circle moment. Keith Asmussen, the father of Steve Asmussen and grandfather of Keith James, is a retired jockey who decades ago rode Quarter Horses for Lukas.
*Sam Houston will have a special holiday card Monday.
*There will be no Monday racing at Oaklawn.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.