With the real money on the line, can Empressum continue to impress following the gelding’s track record performance in the trials for the $700,000 Ruidoso Derby?
“I think it comes down to recovery time,” trainer Health Taylor said this week in his barn. “The horse came back well and he’s been eating everything in front of him. We took him to the track a couple of days ago and he couldn’t have been more focused. This race comes back pretty quick after the trials a week ago Sunday, but we think he’s ready for another solid performance.”
Empressum broke the track record in the 400-yard trial May 30 being clocked at 19.149 seconds, a record that had stood since 2013.
“When you think about all the horses that have run down this race track at that particular distance, it’s very humbling to have a horse holding the track record from your barn,” Taylor said.
Empressum will be number-nine in the field of ten horses competing in the 10th race on Saturday. First post is 1 p.m.