NEW ORLEANS – A Pennsylvania-bred with two starts in Indiana beat another horse that last raced in Arkansas as Angel of Empire won the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds. Under a sensational ride from Luis Saez, Angel of Empire emerged from a group of five horses spread across the track at the eighth pole to outfinish Sun Thunder, posting a one-length victory. Two Phil’s, who made a sharp move off the far turn to take command, held third, 1 3/4 lengths out of second, with Tapit’s Conquest another half-length behind him in fourth. There was a gap of two lengths to fifth-place Single Ruler as the first five home earned 50, 20, 15, 10, and 5 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby. That will be plenty to get Angel of Empire into the Derby. Second in the one-mile Smarty Jones at Oaklawn in his stakes debut, Angel of Empire in his fifth start won his first stakes race while stretching out beyond one mile for the first time. He clocked 1:51.47 for 1 1/8 miles – distance is his friend. “I knew he’d love the distance,” said trainer Brad Cox, who won four races on the card and posted his 2,000th career victory. “He’s a mile and an eighth, mile and a quarter horse. He’s big and leggy and looked like a horse that’d get better as he got older, and he’s doing that.” :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Angel of Empire paid $29.40 as the longest price among three Cox-trained horses in the Risen Star. Tapit’s Conquest was 5-1 and Victory Formation, who had won his first three races, including a solid score over Angel of Empire in the Smarty Jones, finished ninth as the 9-5 favorite. Victory Formation led wire to wire in the Smarty Jones but after settling in a stalking position Saturday, he came up empty. “I got him to relax but he never reengaged from that point on,” said jockey Flavien Prat. Behind Single Ruler in fifth came Harlocap, who stalked the leaders and was one-paced to the wire; Crupi, who broke poorly, as usual, raced a distant last, and came with a stretch run; and Curly Jack. Victory Formation was followed by Shaq Diesel, Silver Heist, Private Creed, Quiet as Midnight, and pacesetting Determinedly. Winning time for the nine furlongs over a fast track was 1:51.34, a raw time that yielded an 87 Beyer Speed Figure. Determinedly surprisingly outfooted Harlocap and Victory Formation for the lead and set splits of 23.34 and 47.50 before being reeled in around the far turn. Angel of Empire broke all right, took a slight stumble a few strides into the race, and wound up sixth racing near the rail. “The key with him was to break and not be too far back,” said Saez. Angel of Empire sliced between horses on the far turn, followed in Two Phils’s wake past the quarter pole and into the homestretch, fought off Two Phil’s to his inside and Tapit’s Conquest to his outside, and outfinished Sun Thunder, who was coming hard along the rail. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures “When we came to the three-eighths, I just asked him to get going, and he gave me the move at the top of the stretch,” said Saez. “He’s a pretty nice horse.” Sun Thunder, a well-beaten fourth by leading 3-year-old Arabian Knight making his stakes debut over a sloppy Oaklawn surface in the Southwest Stakes, made a strong move forward to finish second. Brian Hernandez Jr. engineered a favorable trip from the rear of the field, finding room without losing ground around the far turn. “He was fully engaged the whole way for that only being his fourth start and going mile and an eighth,” said Hernandez. “Today was a big effort for him to step forward like he did.” Two Phil’s had finished second in the Lecomte last month and appeared to improve upon that performance. Fourth-place Tapit’s Conquest was head and head for the lead at the eighth pole and tired slightly in the final half-furlong, jockey Florent Geroux said.   Cox already is pointing Lecomte winner Instant Coffee for the $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 26. Angel of Empire, a Pennsylvania-bred son of Classic Empire and the To Honor and Serve mare Armony’s Angel, could wind up in the same race, though Cox left open his options. Owned by the Albaugh Family Stables, Angel of Empire is ascending at just the right time. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.