FUTURED ALUMNI
Angel of Empire
Classic Empire - Armony's Angel by To Honor And Serve
G1
WINNER
$1.49M
EARNINGS
4-1
DERBY FAVORITE
HIS JOURNEY
CHAPTER I
From a Pennsylvania Foal to Kentucky Derby Favorite
He arrived on April 9, 2020 — a dark bay colt, the very first foal from a young mare named Armony's Angel. Bred by Forgotten Land Investment Inc. and Black Diamond Equine Corp. on the rolling pastures of Pennsylvania, he carried the blood of Classic Empire, himself a champion who had won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the Arkansas Derby. No one could have predicted just how closely the son would follow in his sire's footsteps.
CHAPTER II
The Early Days
As a weanling, the colt passed through the Keeneland November Sale ring without finding a buyer, failing to meet his reserve at just $32,000. Months later, consigned by Warrendale Sales at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, he caught the eye of Albaugh Family Stables, who took him home for $70,000 — a modest sum by industry standards.
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He was sent to the barn of trainer Brad Cox, and it didn't take long to see that something special was developing.
Angel of Empire as a yearling - August 2021 . Picture ThoroStride
CHAPTER III
A Star Emerges
Angel of Empire announced himself on debut, winning his first career start — a one-mile maiden at Horseshoe Indianapolis in August 2022. Two starts later, back at the same track, he crushed an allowance field by six and a quarter lengths. The raw talent was undeniable.
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His three-year-old season began on New Year's Day 2023 at Oaklawn Park, where he finished a respectable second in the Smarty Jones Stakes behind the speedy Victory Formation. It was a learning experience. What came next was a statement.
Angel of Empire winning the Grace 1 Arkansas Derby - March 2023
"He was one of the best three-year-olds of his crop. He danced every dance and brought his A-game every time."
BRAD COX, TRAINER
CHAPTER VI
The Rise
At the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Angel of Empire entered the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes as a 13-1 longshot in a full field of fourteen. The skeptics had their reasons — he was still lightly raced, still unproven at the graded stakes level. None of it mattered. Settling near the back of the pack, he waited, then unleashed a sustained closing rally through the stretch to win by a length. It was the kind of run that puts the racing world on notice.
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Just weeks later, he traveled to Oaklawn Park for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby — a $1.25 million showdown and the same race his sire had won six years earlier. Under jockey Flavien Prat, Angel of Empire sat patiently off the pace before sweeping into contention on the far turn. He took command entering the stretch and powered away, crossing the wire four and a quarter lengths clear of the field.
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He had arrived.
Angel of Empire finished a close 3rd in the Kentucky Derby 2023. Source: NBC Sports
CHAPTER V
The Kentucky Derby
On the first Saturday in May 2023, Angel of Empire walked into the Churchill Downs starting gate as the 4-1 favorite in the 149th Kentucky Derby — the horse the public believed in most out of a field of eighteen.
From the back of a chaotic, hard-charging pack, he launched his trademark closing rally. The gap narrowed stride by stride. When the wire came, he had run down almost every horse on the track — finishing third, beaten just a length and a half, with a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.
It was the kind of Derby run that stays with you. Not a defeat so much as a declaration: this horse belonged on the biggest stage in the sport.
CHAPTER VI
Legacy
For Forgotten Land Investment Inc., the colt who once failed to meet a $32,000 reserve became a millionaire, a Grade 1 winner, Pennsylvania Horse of the Year, and the favorite for the most famous horse race in the world.
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Now standing at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky with his first foals arriving in 2026, Angel of Empire begins a new chapter — one that carries the promise of his bloodlines forward to the next generation.
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He is the embodiment of what this program is built on: the belief that with the right bloodlines, the right care, and a little faith, extraordinary things are possible.
"Angel of Empire is as good-looking of a first-year sire as you will see this year. An impressive debut winner at two who developed into a Grade 1-winning three-year-old and the favorite for the Kentucky Derby."
TRAVIS WHITE, TAYLOR MADE STALLIONS
BY THE NUMBERS
Career Statistics
CAREER STARTS
9
WINS
4
IN THE MONEY
7/9
CAREER EARNINGS
$1,489,375
BEST BEYER
104
HIGHEST GRADE WON
G1
PA HORSE OF THE YEAR
2023
TOP MID-ALTANTIC BRED
#1
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