Empressum needs to be at his best in Champion of Champions

In the two years since Empressum won the Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos, the now 6-year-old gelding has had 12 starts, winning seven times and finishing second in the other five races.

The ultra-consistent record is not enough to give Empressum the role of favorite in Saturday’s $600,000 Champion of Champions at 440 yards. He may be the third choice behind the Midwest import Jess Good Wine, the likely favorite, and the red-hot 4-year-old Jeriko.

Those three give trainer Heath Taylor an excellent chance to win the Champion of Champions for the third consecutive year. Taylor won the 2023 running with Flash Bak, who sadly was euthanized earlier this fall after being diagnosed with equine infectious anemia, a disease that hit Taylor’s stables in California and Texas.

Empressum had his eighth start of 2023 in the Champion of Champions. This year, he was given a lighter campaign and will race for the fifth time on Saturday.

“I think last year he was a tired horse in the Champion of Champions,” Taylor said on Wednesday.

“We decided to take him home and turn him out. We wanted to give him a lighter campaign this year.”

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Empressum will need to repeat his 2022 performance to beat Jeriko and Jess Good Wine. Saturday’s race is the fourth consecutive meeting between Jeriko and Empressum.

Jeriko, owned by Bobby Cox of Fort Worth, and Empressum were first and second in the Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Championship at 440 yards on Oct. 12, the last start for both geldings.

Jeriko, who was fourth in the 2023 Champion of Champions as a 3-year-old, was second to Empressum in the Vessels Maturity in July. In the Go Man Go Handicap on Aug. 25, Jeriko finished first, a nose in front of Empressum, but was disqualified and placed last of seven for causing interference.

“They’ve traded back and forth,” Taylor said of the recent results. “I think Jeriko is close to peaking and is a true 440 horse. Empressum has shown every sign that he’s sitting on a big race and he may have turned the clock back a little bit.”

In a field of 10 on Saturday, Empressum and Jeriko must beat Jess Good Wine, a recent addition to Taylor’s stable.

Jess Good Wine, 4, will have his California debut on Saturday on the strength of an undefeated four-race season this year for trainer Toby Keeton that includes wins in the Debbie Schauf Remington Park Championship in June and the All American Gold Cup at the Downs at Albuquerque on Sept. 2.

“He’s all class, extremely sound, and healthy,” Taylor said. “He’s a big, strong, impressive horse. He’s not missed a beat.”

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