Inca Empire kept the Stakes winning ‘all in the family’ when he came with a driving finish to annex the $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup by one-and-three-quarter lengths at Remington Park on Friday, 18 October.
The five-year-old Midshipman gelding, who was earning his first Stakes win in the 8.5-furlong contest, emulated his younger half-sister, Miss Code West, who captured the Oklahoma Classics Distaff two races earlier on the card. Both races were part of an eight-race Stakes card for Oklahoma-breds which purses were worth a cumulative $1 million.
Inca Empire broke alertly and was settled off the pace in fifth while racing three-wide through the clubhouse turn and into the backstretch, as C W Prize and Winters Lion battled for the lead. Making headway on the far turn, Inca Empire was set down for the drive at the top the lane and he responded, quickly sweeping past both C W Prize and Winters Lion to get the victory.
Bred in Oklahoma by Bryan Hawk, Inca Empire is out of the mare, Inca Miss, a Stakes-placed daughter of Kipling. In addition to Inca Empire, the mare has produced multiple Stakes winner, Miss Code West (Code West) and Stakes-placed J B’s Legacy (Den’s Legacy).
In addition to Inca Empire, Midshipman is also the sire of 2024 North American Stakes winners Able Seaman, Mystic Seaport, Blue Cheese and Midshipman’s Dance. In Chile so far this year, Midshipman has been represented by three G1 winners: The Goat (a two-time G1 winner), Gran Dali and Cassis Violeta.
Midshipman will stand the 2025 breeding season at Jonabell Farm for $15,000, stands and nurses.
