Titanium Emperor conquers Mount Kilimanjaro in Patton at Dundalk

Mar 07, 2025 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Titanium Emperor wins the Patton on debut at Dundalk (Photo by Healy Racing/RMG)

AMO Racing’s Titanium Emperor scaled the heights in his career debut in Friday’s Patton Race at Dundalk, toppling odds-on favorite Mount Kilimanjaro on the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The result capped a successful night for Kia Joorabchian’s AMO colors, trainer Adrian Murray, and jockey David Egan. They combined to win the previous race with Valiant Force, who is co-owned by AMO Racing and Giselle de Aguiar. In the Patton, Titanium Emperor led home the exacta rounded out by stablemate Spicy Margarita, herself owned in partnership with de Aguiar.

Aidan O’Brien’s Mount Kilimanjaro, the only Triple Crown nominee in the five-horse field, wound up third. Last seen placing second in the Oct. 27 Criterium International (G1) on the Saint-Cloud turf, the French-bred shouldered top weight of 137 pounds in this seasonal reappearance. Whether it was the weight, a case of needing a tightener off the layoff, or a combination thereof, Mount Kilimanjaro proved one-paced in the closing stages.

Although Titanium Emperor was making his first start, he did attract steam in the betting and ended up being a market mover. It was a clue that Egan, AMO’s retained rider, was aboard him, not the team’s recent maiden winner Spicy Margarita. Titanium Emperor went off as the 9-2 second choice stateside, paying $11.

Titanium Emperor also brought a pedigree angle as a son of the Dubawi stallion Night of Thunder and My Titania. A Group 3-winning mare by Sea the Stars, My Titania has produced three Group 1-placed performers – My Oberon and My Prospero, both Group 2 victors, as well as My Astra. Because My Oberon is by Dubawi, he counts as a three-quarter brother to Titanium Emperor.

Drawn in post 2, Titanium Emperor belied his inexperience by breaking alertly and arguing the pace. Initially he raced between Powerful Lady on the rail and Mount Kilimanjaro on the outside, but the colts soon edged away and matched strides.

The blaze-faced Mount Kilimanjaro appeared to be traveling more smoothly rounding the turn, when Egan had to get after Titanium Emperor to find more. To his credit, the first-time starter responded effectively down the straight.

Titanium Emperor pulled three lengths clear and completed the Polytrack mile in 1:38.23. For comparison, older stablemate Valiant Force covered his mile race in 1:37.57. American fans may remember Valiant Force as the runner-up in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) who ran a couple of times at Gulfstream Park last spring.

Smart debut 🟣⚪️

Night Of Thunder colt Titanium Emperor, who attracted support earlier in the day, posts a very taking debut performance @DundalkStadium.

That's a quickfire double for @amoracingltd, @AMurrayRacing and @DavidEgan99. pic.twitter.com/pTUbJa56e1

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 7, 2025

As Titanium Emperor drew away, Mount Kilimanjaro flattened out and found himself in a three-way scrum for the minor awards. Spicy Margarita stayed on to snatch second by a half-length, but Mount Kilimanjaro salvaged third by the same margin from Powerful Lady. Giant longshot Glinka trailed.

The Patton was worth points on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis to the five finishers. Mount Kilimanjaro’s six points make him the only Triple Crown nominee on the Euro/Mideast Road leaderboard so far.

Titanium Emperor would be an intriguing proposition on dirt, given grandsire Dubawi’s influence. Yet Murray sounded inclined to pursue the European turf with the promising sophomore.

“We put him in at the deep end, but he didn’t let us down,” his trainer told irishracing.com.

“He is a gorgeous looker and has a beautiful temperament. He’s a beautiful horse and has a beautiful way of racing; his temperament is second to none.

'Maybe the (May 5) Tetrarch S. at the Curragh could be next. We will take him in steps.”

AMO’s U.S. division already has a Derby candidate in Hill Road. A barnstorming third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) in his final outing for Murray, Hill Road returns for new trainer Chad Brown in Saturday’s Tampa Bay Derby (G3).

The decisive race on the Euro/Mideast Road is still to come, the April 5 UAE Derby (G2) on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan.