Hembree

Hembree won his career debut in August 2016 at Saratoga before running second in the Sunday Silence Stakes the next month at Louisiana Downs. He was unplaced in the Grade 3 Dixiana Bourbon Stakes in his final race as a juvenile.

In January 2018, Hembree halted a 12-race winless stretch that included a stretch of six straight top-three finishes. He added allowance wins in June at Belmont Park and September at Kentucky Downs before returning to stakes competition on Oct. 13 for the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine After racing in seventh early in the Nearctic, Hembree rallied powerfully on the outside to catch stablemate Hemp Hemp Hooray in the closing strides to prevail by a neck and nail down his first career stakes victory.

After that breakthrough win, Hembree remained a presence in stakes races through 2019 and 2020, but only won one of them in February 2019 while finishing second and third three times each. He concluded 2020 with an allowance optional claiming score at Churchill Downs in November, and that propelled him to his second career graded stakes win on New Year’s Day 2021, when he rallied along the inside to get up and take the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes at Santa Anita by three-quarters of a length. Owner Tom Kagele and trainer Peter Miller claimed Hembree after his win at Churchill.