Empress Tigress Stays Undefeated in Coronation Cup

Empress Tigress (3f Classic Empire x Tigress Tale, by Tale of the Cat) went a perfect two-for-two on Saturday with a win in the Listed Coronation Cup Stakes at Saratoga.

Trained by Jonathan Thomas for Augustin Stable, the filly was restless in the gates but broke in good order to stalk the pacesetter in the 5 ½ furlong turf race. John Velazquez handled her patiently, letting her pick up the pace a notch racing into the turn to chase down the leader.

By the quarter pole, Empress Tigress had the lead and was clear by over three lengths heading into the final eighth. Her margin was decreased to half length at the line but it was enough to become her sire’s seventh stakes winner – putting him second on the second crop sire list.

“She’s so fast. I don’t see any reason to change that at the moment. She might stretch out but she’s so fast and I’m happy to have her,” Thomas said of stretching the filly to farther distances.

Empress Tigress was a $410,000 OBS April purchase from Golden Rock Thoroughbreds by Donato Lanni and was bred by Springhouse Farm.

The filly is out of a Tale of the Cat half-sister to the Grade III winner and multiple Grade I-placed Stays In Vegas and a three-quarter sister to stakes winner Miss Technicality. The family also includes Grade I winners Persistently and Queen Goddess with Empress Tigress’s fourth dam being the great racemare and successful broodmare Heavenly Prize.

Tigress Tale also has a 2-year-old Munnings filly named Sweet Little Lisa working regularly at Colonial Downs.

Classic Empire’s 11 stakes performers puts him third on the Second Crop Sire list with his two graded stakes winners also seeing him in that same spot.