There are definitely times when racing and breeding remind us of Jung's concept of Synchronicity, the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.
The most recent of these happened Saturday, when the young sire Classic Empire garnered a pair of new graded-stakes winners in rapid succession. First, the 4-year-old filly Classy Edition, out of a mare by Bernardini, captured the Royal Delta Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Then, just an hour later, the 3-year-old colt Angel of Empire , out of a mare by Bernardini's son To Honor and Serve, closed from off a fast pace to take the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
For Classy Edition, the victory was fulfillment of promise she'd shown early in her career. She didn't make her first start until September of her juvenile season, but still managed to win three races in three starts that year, including the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes and Key Cents Stakes (both restricted to New York-breds). She was second to Saturday's Royal Delta runner-up, Kathleen O., in the Davona Dale Stakes (G3) on her 3-year-old debut, then went to the sidelines after a fourth in the Gazelle Stakes (G3). Classy Edition wasn't seen in public again until this January, where she prepped for the Royal Delta by capturing a Gulfstream allowance/optional claiming event by 5 3/4 lengths.
Angel of Empire wasn't as quick to tackle black-type company. He did win a mile maiden at Horseshoe Indianapolis on his debut last August, but then failed to handle the turf in a Kentucky Downs allowance race the following month. Back on the dirt at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Angel of Empire romped in a mile allowance test in November, then opened his 3-year-old campaign with a second in the Smarty Jones Stakes to Victory Formation, who finished unplaced as favorite in the Risen Star.
Classic Empire himself was as precocious as they come, particularly for a classic runner. He broke his maiden over 4 1/2 furlongs at Churchill Downs in early May, then added the Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) at the same venue in July. Favorite for the Hopeful Stakes (G1), Classic Empire shot sideways out of the gate, losing his rider. That, however, proved to be just a hiccup in his progress, as he returned to add the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) by three lengths from the subsequent Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Lookin At Lee . He then secured juvenile championship honors by holding off Not This Time by a neck in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
At 3, Classic Empire battled a foot abscess and a back problem through the winter, but after a below-par third in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3), he rebounded to take the Arkansas Derby (G1). In the Kentucky Derby he suffered a nightmare trip, as described in the chart notes— "bobbled soon after the break, then was hammered off stride between rivals when forced down, regrouped to rate off the inside, picked up steam leaving the far turn, swung five wide for the drive, had his run briefly interrupted when bumped and carried out midstretch, regrouped, and churned on"— and under the circumstances did well to take fourth.
Two weeks later, Classic Empire was back for the Preakness Stakes (G1), where after prevailing in a pace duel with the Kentucky Derby winner, Always Dreaming, he was caught on the wire by Cloud Computing. Another foot abscess sidelined Classic Empire from the Belmont Stakes (G1) and led to a further back issue. Once recovered from both, there was insufficient time to prepare Classic Empire for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and he was retired to Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., for the 2018 breeding season. With his eldest runners only 4, he has now sired eight stakes winners, also including last year's Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) and Indiana Oaks (G3) victress Interstatedaydream and Gotham Stakes (G3) scorer Morello, and he looks good value at his 2023 fee of $15,000.
Angel of Empire is the first foal of his dam, Armony's Angel, who managed a pair of seconds from eight starts at 2, her only season to race. She is a half sister to the graded scorer Conquest Big E, and to stakes winner Aquapazza. The second dam, Carson City's winning daughter Seeinsbelieven, is a half sister to the Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap (G2) winner Softly, the granddam of Victory Formation, and third dam of Sienna, a stakes winner at 2 in Italy last year. She's also half sister to graded-stakes winner Coragil Cat, and to stakes-placed Spring Eclipse, herself dam of the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes winner Bet She Wins.
Angel of Empire's third dam, Coragil, is a stakes-placed daughter of the Seattle Slew stallion Metfield, out of White Jasmine. Coragil is a half sister to four stakes winners, headed by Til Forbid, successful in the Arlington Oaks (G3), second in the Alabama Stakes (G1), and third in the Spinster Stakes (G1), Ashland Stakes (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1), and to the graded-stakes winner Hold Old Blue.
White Jasmine herself had a fascinating pedigree, as she was by Whitesburg, a son of champion Two-Year-Old Colt Crimson Satan, and her second dam, Sister Satan, was a half sister to that horse, meaning that White Jasmine is inbred 3x3 to the Argentinian-bred mare Papila, notably also tail-female ancestress of Tiznow. We'll note that Crimson Satan is also sire of the second dam of Storm Cat, and Angel of Empire is one of at least nine stakes winners descending in female line from White Jasmine, and having Storm Cat in the pedigree, the others including multiple grade 2 winner Forbidden Kingdom, who is by American Pharoah (a Pioneerof the Nile/Storm Cat cross like Classic Empire).
The presence of Pioneerof the Nile in two of the best from this family is made more intriguing by the fact that Pioneerof the Nile is from the 'B' mtDNA haplogroup, which makes up little more than 4% of the population, but is also the mtDNA line of Crimson Satan and White Jasmine.
We've also mentioned that both Classy Edition and Angel of Empire are out of Bernardini mares. The combination of Bernardini and Unbridled is one with a short but extremely successful history. The first stakes winner by Bernardini out of an Unbridled line mare, Gotham Stakes (G3) scorer Shagaf, was foaled in 2013, but there are now six stakes winners (all graded and all out of Unbridled's Song mares) for Bernardini on the cross, and two more by Bernardini's son Stay Thirsty . Meanwhile, Classy Edition and Angel of Empire are just two of nine stakes winners by Unbridled line stallions out of Bernardini line mares, the others including grade 1 winners Colonel Liam , Matareya, and Wicked Whisper.
The key to the success of the Unbridled/Bernardini combination almost certainly comes down to the relationship between Unbridled and Bernardini's broodmare sire, Quiet American. Unbridled is by Fappiano and is inbred to Rough'n Tumble and Aspidistra, the sire and dam of Dr. Fager, where Quiet American is by Fappiano and inbred to Dr. Fager and to Fappiano's third dam, Cequillo.
