Emmanuel

A son of prominent sire More Than Ready, Emmanuel sold for $350,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2020. He gave indications that he was more than worth his price tag with impressive victories in his first two races. He soundly defeated a maiden special weight field at Gulfstream Park by 6 3/4 lengths on Dec. 30, 2021, and followed up that race with an impressive 4 1/2-length win against allowance optional claiming company at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 30, 2022. 

Needing a big race to advance to the 2022 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, Emmanuel next shipped to Lexington, Ky., for the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. April 9 at Keeneland. He set the pace in the 1 1/8-mile race through a quarter mile in :24.04 and a half-mile in :48.39 and led through the final turn before being overtaken by eventual runner-up Smile Happy and Blue Grass victor Zandon. The More Than Ready colt earned 20 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby in that race.

The connections of Emmanuel elected not to press on to the Derby. He was subsequently switched to the grass for his next start, the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park on June 4. He took to the new surface easily, cruising to an impressive gate-to-wire win.  The last race of his 2022 3-year-old campaign was a 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 $1 million Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational on Aug. 6.

Following a layoff of nearly six months, Emmanuel returned to the races for the first start of his 4-year-old season in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes on Feb. 4, 2023. In the Tampa Bay, Emmanuel was an easy 1 3/4-length winner over a field of 12. He went the 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in a time of 1:39.25. Emmanuel improved to 2-for-2 to start his 4-year-old season by reeling in stablemate Steady On in deep stretch of the Grade 3 Canadian Turf Stakes March 4 at Gulfstream Park, winning by a neck.

Emmanuel was defeated in the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland on April 14 and finished a close third on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico in the Grade 3 Dinner Party on May 20, but then got back into the win column in her next race on the Belmont Stakes undercard on June 10 in the Grade 3 $200,000 Poker Stakes at one mile at Belmont Park. In the Poker, Emmanuel was sent off as the 6-1 third choice on the tote board in a field of six and raced in last in the early running before making a big rallying move and prevailing in a tight four-way finish by a neck in 1:34.25 for the mile on firm turf.

Emanuel is trained by Todd Pletcher. He was bred in Kentucky out of the mare Hard Cloth by Hard Spun.