$1.25 million Arkansas Derby, April 1, 2023 [100 qualifying points for first, 40 for second, 30 for third, 20 for fourth, and 10 for fifth] Winner: Angel of Empire, by Classic Empire Trainer: Brad Cox Jockey: Flavien Prat Owner: Albaugh Family Stable Distance / time: 1 1/8 miles / 1:49.68 Win margin: 4 1/4 lengths Beyer: 94  The 94 Beyer isn’t going to set the world on fire, but it’s another career-best for ANGEL OF EMPIRE, who continued his steady ascent through the 3-year-old dirt-route division. Throw out a no-show last year over the Kentucky Downs turf course and this colt has run nothing but good races. He showed courage and intelligence in his two Indiana wins before running into a peak performance going a short-stretch Oaklawn mile finishing from stablemate Victory Formation, whom he came back to thrash in the Risen Star. Angel of Empire now has consecutive stakes wins, this tally following the Risen Star, and he was much the best here. Distance appears to be Angel of Empire’s friend, and he figures to stay 1 1/4 miles better than most.  On the flip side, for the second straight start, Angel of Empire did get favorable race flow and a clean trip, and in the Arkansas Derby his primary competition failed to show up. REINCARNATE, ROCKET CAN, and RED ROUTE ONE all took a step back. Runner-up KING RUSSELL was coming out of a maiden win in which he earned a 78 Beyer. Reincarnate had lost what spark he had at the quarter pole and still managed to hold third.  :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Angel of Empire, Flavien Prat riding for the first time, got away decently but lacked early speed and was seventh, two paths off the rail with no one crowding his space, into the first turn. Prat gently niggled his mount along down the backstretch, Angel of Empire still racing free and clear of traffic, trailing the lead bunch of horses but several lengths in front of the three behind him as the field went down the backstretch. Angel of Empire had edged a bit closer through a half-mile in 47.26 seconds, Prat angling to the outside before asking for more between the 7/16 pole and 3/8 pole. Running the turn better and making a sharper move than he’d done in the Risen Star, Angel of Empire gave Prat plenty, his fourth quarter-mile of 24.78 easily fastest in the race,   Coming four wide, Angel of Empire whizzed past Rocket Can, got to Reincarnate before the quarter pole, and was past pacesetting TWO EAGLES RIVER before the three-sixteenths marker. As Prat tried to get him to change leads, Angel of Empire edged toward the fence, but once on the proper lead he ran straight to the wire. Prat cropped his mount once left-handed after the lead change, then showed Angel of Empire the stick in the final half-furlong, the horse already having gone well clear.   King Russell, who needed six tries to win a maiden race, dropped quickly back to eighth after breaking from post 9, climbing a bit into the first turn before settling back in ninth. He raced alongside fellow last-start maiden winner INTERLOCK EMPIRE down the backstretch, followed along in Angel of Empire’s wake while coming wide on the far turn, and was pushed out six paths from the fence by Interlock Empire as the pair straightened for the wire. Interlock Empire flattened but King Russell, under heavy urging, continued a steady wide run, getting up late for place, one of five horses separated by about 1 1/2 lengths while well behind the winner. King Russell has taken forward steps the last couple months and clearly hit a peak, but his 59-1 runner-up showing makes one question the strength of this race.   Reincarnate had a far better start than in the Rebel Stakes, where things began poorly, but he lacked the natural speed to clear a couple rivals to his inside and thus was stuck about four paths wide into the first turn. Heading off the turn and onto the backstretch, Reincarnate cleared AIRTIME and HARLOCAP to his inside and got into second behind Two Eagles River past the six-furlong pole. Going along on a loose rein, Reincarnate tracked decently but not with the appearance of a horse who could take command if the rider had so desired. Indeed, John Velazquez began moving his hands with more urgency midway around the far turn, and went to a left-handed crop twice before the quarter pole as Reincarnate failed to reel in Two Eagles River. Reincarnate changed leads professionally, but already Angel of Empire had swept past. He finished evenly, not terribly, though it had to be somewhat disappointing not to be able to hold second. Months ago, his former trainer Bob Baffert had called Reincarnate his Belmont horse; a strong, galloping type without a lot of acceleration. We saw some acceleration and handiness in the Rebel, but not here.   Rocket Can, the 5-2 favorite, broke decently and was sixth around the first turn, two or three paths off the rail. Three or four paths wide into the second turn, Rocket Can urgently was asked to keep up with Reincarnate as Reincarnate was being asked to keep up with Two Eagles River at the five-sixteenths pole, and the contrast between the winner’s pace and Rocket Can’s as Angel of Empire swept past was stark. Rocket Can plugged along like the grinder he is and was just a neck and a head out of second, but he appeared to make no progress from his Florida form this winter and might have hit his peak -- for now, at least.   Airtime, coming back on 11 days' rest and making his stakes debut, broke on top but quickly was displaced, pulling a stalking trip between horses down the backstretch. He got into tight quarters between Reincarnate and Harlocap approaching the three-eighths and continued along in traffic about two paths wide, the jockey asking for more at the five-sixteenths. Airtime had little room to operate there, and it was not until the three-sixteenths pole that things opened up for him. He briefly looked like he meant business striding out at the eighth pole, but Angel of Empire was going much better, Airtime began losing momentum at the sixteenth pole, and he switched back to the wrong lead with 50 yards to run like a horse who was out of gas.  Red Route One broke all right from post 10, but even racing for the first time in blinkers he lacked any semblance of positional pace and was out the back door before the first turn. Still last at the quarter pole, he went 12.23 for his final furlong, second-best in the race behind Angel of Empire, but even that wasn’t fast enough to crack the top 5. His two stronger performances at this meet came on sloppy tracks; either he was better on those than a fast track, his development has stalled, or the blinkers need to come off again.   Two Eagles River came into this looking like a miler and came out of it the same way. He put up a good fight to the eighth pole, but had little left for the end.  Interlock Empire, as previously noted, ran head and head with King Russell to the quarter pole but from there beat a steady retreat to the wire and had no apparent excuse. Harlocap disputed the pace from the inside but was cooked in upper stretch. BOURBON BASH had the only real trouble in the race, breaking from the rail and getting in a bit tight to the first turn. Going along in mid-pack, the jockey steered to the fence after turning onto the backstretch and at the five-furlong pole tried and failed to squeeze between the rail and Harlocap, instead having to check out of that spot. Bourbon Bash made no impact thereafter.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.