Classic Empire to Bypass PA Derby, Future Undecided
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Mark Casse, pictured here with Classic Empire, said he is unable to predict when the champion colt might race again
John Oxley's multiple grade 1 winner Classic Empire will not run in the Sept. 23 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing and his connections do not have plans yet for the colt's next start, trainer Mark Casse said Aug. 29.
"We just haven't been able to get him ready. We needed everything to go right," Casse said. "(With the) weather, we just haven't gotten him back to where we want him to be. I'm not going to push it anymore. It's like we're always trying to make a schedule, and I decided that I'm going to let him make his own schedule."
Casse said Ocala, Fla. has been affected by remnants from Hurricane Harvey, so the training schedule for the Pioneerof the Nile colt, who is currently at Winding Oaks Farm, has been disrupted.
He added that the reigning champion juvenile colt jogged and galloped approximately 1 1/2 miles Tuesday morning and was doing well, but the trainer added the Triple Crown trail was grueling.
"If anything, we learned last weekend in the Travers (Stakes) that the Triple Crown trail takes its toll," he said. "We saw the (Kentucky) Derby winner, the Preakness winner, and the Belmont winner not hit the board—it takes its toll. All of these horses have been going long and hard.
"(Classic Empire) ran in May of his 2-year-old year. He's been in training for a long, long time. And we're not going to do (anything) until we're ready. I'm not giving any dates or making any predictions. When we think he's ready, he'll breeze, and once we get him back in a regular routine, then we'll come up with a target."
Bred by Steven Nicholson and Brandi Nicholson, Classic Empire has a 5-1-1 record from nine starts with earnings of $2,520,220. Last time out, he was defeated by a head when Cloud Computing ran him down in the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1). He entered the Preakness off a fourth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and before that, he won the Arkansas Derby (G1) in April. Winning four of his five starts as a juvenile, including the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), the bay runner was named champion 2-year-old male of 2016. His 3-year-old season, however, has been plagued with ups and downs as minor injuries have forced his connections to alter their plans on multiple occasions.