Empressum (#10), under champion jockey Rodrigo Vallejo, gets up at the wire to defeat Kj Desparado (#9) in the $258,000 Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship on Saturday at Remington Park.

© Emily Paulk / StallioneSearch

By H. David Smith, StallioneSearch

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—MAY 30, 2026—Former AQHA Racing World Champion Empressum added another Grade 1 trophy to his remarkable résumé Saturday night at Remington Park, prevailing by the narrowest of margins in the $258,000 Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship for Quarter Horses aged 3 and up at 440 yards.

After going winless in four starts last season, the 8-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding rallied from off the pace under jockey Rodrigo Vallejo to get up in the final strides and defeat multiple Grade 1 winning millionaire Kj Desparado by a nose in a blanket finish that saw the top four runners separated by only a head.

Empressum stopped the timer in 21.307 seconds over a fast track, earning a 105 speed index while collecting the winner’s share of $144,300.

Bred in Oklahoma by Jeff Jones and Steve Holt, Empressum is by leading sire Apollitical Jess out of the First Down Dash mare Crazy Down Corona. The sorrel gelding races for his breeders, Jeff D. Jones and Steve A. Holt, and is conditioned by Fernando Manriquez.

The winning connections of Empressum accept the Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship stakes trophy on Saturday at Remington Park.
© Emily Paulk / StallioneSearch

Already one of the sport’s most accomplished older runners, Empressum was crowned the 2022 AQHA World Champion Racing American Quarter Horse after a standout campaign highlighted by a victory in the prestigious Champion of Champions (G1) at Los Alamitos. He later added a second Champion of Champions title and has amassed multiple Grade 1 victories while earning more than $2.5 million during his distinguished career.

Kj Desparado, a 7-year-old brown gelding also by Apollitical Jess, out of the Tres Seis mare Tres Veses, finished second after battling throughout. Bred in Arizona by L&L Land & Cattle, he races for John Lee, Kathy Lee, and Ruben Mares. Jason Giles trains the runner-up, who was ridden by Noe Garcia Jr. and earned $46,500.

The former All American Futurity(G1) winner and AQHA's all-time leading money earner boosted his total to nearly $3.4 million.

Church Spire completed the trifecta, another neck back in third. The 4-year-old bay gelding by champion and multiple stakes sire Kvn Corona out of Symbol of Faith, by Tac It Like a Man, was bred in Oklahoma by Kelly Yother Equine LLC.

Owned by Rancho Garambuyo and trained by Marco Chavez-Gutierrez, Church Spire was ridden by Jonathan Dominguez and earned $26,455. The gelding was purchased for $26,000 at the 2026 Heritage Place Winter Mixed Sale and has banked $143,638 in 15 careeer starts.

Hooked N Gone finished fourth after being photoed out for a placing, followed by Holy Pete in fifth. Shakers No Secret checked in sixth, with Toastin Heros seventh, Lethal Cowboy 123 eighth, Cowboys Gun Z ninth, Bigg Picture tenth, Ultimate Battle eleventh and Stetsonn twelfth.

The Grade 1 event produced one of the most competitive finishes of the Remington Park season, with Empressum proving once again why he remains one of Quarter racing’s elite performers, digging in late to secure yet another major stakes victory in a career already worthy of championship distinction.

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