Empressum puts win streak on line in Los Alamitos Championship
Since the beginning of summer, Empressum has won three races without a challenge at Los Alamitos.
The 4-year-old gelding won a time trial for the Vessels Maturity at 400 yards by 2 1/4 lengths, and the final on July 3 by 1 3/4 lengths. Empressum was better in the Go Man Go Handicap at 400 yards on Aug. 28, winning by 2 1/2 lengths.
In Saturday’s $125,000 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Championship, Empressum will be favored to win the seventh stakes of his career in his 21st start. As dazzling as his recent stakes wins have been, it would be shocking to see him win by similar margins in the Los Alamitos Championship at 440 yards. Saturday’s field is the best he has faced in California this year.
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“We’re very blessed with a fast horse,” trainer Heath Taylor said. “Each race, he does things I don’t expect. You hope for it and train for it, but his first three races [at Los Alamitos] this year have made for lofty expectations. There are some phenomenal horses to run in these races. I’m sure it will get harder.”
Empressum, the champion 3-year-old gelding and overall 3-year-old of 2021, must beat Powerful Favorite, who won the 2021 Los Alamitos Championship, and Apollitical Pence, who has won the last two runnings of the Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos.
They are all starting in the Los Alamitos Championship as a prep for the $750,000 Champion of Champions at 440 yards on Dec. 10.
The Los Alamitos Championship drew a field of seven, including the outsiders Circle City, Mister Tornado and Other World.
Flash Bak, the winner of the Los Alamitos Super Derby last November and second in the 2021 Champions of Champions and this year’s Go Man Go Handicap, might also be largely overlooked in the betting.
Powerful Favorite won two stakes in late summer at Ruidoso Downs, both for trainer Chris O’Dell – the Mr Jet Moore Handicap at 400 yards on July 31 and the All American Gold Cup at 440 yards in the rapid time of 20.93 seconds on Sept. 5.
Apollitical Pence, trained by Monty Arrossa, is unbeaten in five starts since a third in the 2021 Los Alamitos Championship. The winning streak includes three races this year, notably the Brad McKinzie Winter Championship at 400 yards in February and his comeback after a layoff of more than six months in the Labor Day Weekend Stakes at 250 yards at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 3.
For Saturday’s race, Empressum drew post 2, while Powerful Favorite and Apollitical Pence have the outside two stalls.
Empressum, who races for Steve Holt and Jeff Jacobs, will be ready, Taylor said.
“The horse has kept a really good energy level,” he said. “He’s been really focused, really happy, quite aggressive in the mornings.
“He’s carrying a lot of weight this year in a good way. He needs the race to stay race sharp at 440 yards.”
* Ed Burgart, who retired as track announcer at Los Alamitos at the end of 2019, will replace vacationing announcer Michael Wrona this weekend. Wrona will return on Oct. 15.
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