mr. d. stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Mr. D Winner Two Emmys Leads Field For Friday’s Sycamore At Keeneland

Wolfe Racing and Hugh Robertson's Two Emmys, winner of the Grade 1 Mr. D. at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill., in his most recent start, headlines a field of 12 runners entered Sunday for Friday's 27^th running of the $150,000 Grade 3 Sycamore for 3-year-olds and up going 1½ miles on the grass at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

The Sycamore will go as the eighth race with a 4:44 p.m. ET post time on the 10-race program that begins at 1 p.m.

Two Emmys has been a model of consistency in his past four starts that began with a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., in March. Following a short layoff, Two Emmys returned at Arlington Park with a runner-up finish in an allowance/optional claiming test and next was second in the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes.

James Graham, who was aboard for the front-running victory in the Mr. D., has the mount Friday and will depart post position 12.

The field for the Sycamore, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Glynn County (Tyler Gaffalione, 121 pounds), Ajourneytofreedom (Corey Lanerie, 121), Hierarchy (Reylu Gutierrez, 121), Ry's the Guy (Chris Landeros, 121), Yamato (Joe Talamo, 121), Spooky Channel (Julien Leparoux, 123), Sole Volante (Florent Geroux, 121), Breakpoint (CHI) (Ricardo Santana Jr., 121), Bama Breeze (Brian Hernandez Jr., 121), Another Mystery (Adam Beschizza, 121), Kentucky Ghost (Rafael Bejarano, 121), Two Emmys (Graham, 123).

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James Graham Voted Jockey Of The Week After Mr. D. Stakes Upset

Jockey James Graham made a successful return to Arlington Park last Saturday, winning the Grade 1 Mr. D. Stakes to earn Jockey of the Week honors for Aug. 9 through Aug. 15. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Arlington Park had been home to Graham, a native of Dublin, Ireland, for more than a dozen years before moving his tack to Kentucky tracks and Fair Grounds in Louisiana. He returned on Saturday for the first time since 2018 to ride on what may be Arlington Park's last premier day of racing. Trainer Hugh Robertson, a mainstay at Arlington Park for decades and very familiar with Graham, entered long-shot Two Emmys in the G1 Mr. D. Stakes and gave simple instructions to Graham, “Go to the front and slow it down.”

Graham followed those instructions faithfully.

Breaking from post position four in the field of eight, Graham and Two Emmys went straight to the front and controlled the pace around the first turn and down the backstretch with his half-mile in a pedestrian 52.43 seconds. In upper stretch, Graham asked Two Emmys for his best and held on when confronted late by the favorite Domestic Spending and Flavien Prat to win by a neck in 2:03.34 for the mile and one-quarter turf race.

“When I didn't see anyone behind me at the quarter pole, I knew they would really have to run to catch me,” said Graham. “He's shown he can do it before and he did it today.”

With the win, Graham posted his fifth career G1 win.

Weekly statistics for Graham were 15-2-2-2 for an in-the-money rate of 40 percent and total purses of $407,668.

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Alex Birzer with an in-the-money rate of 55 percent, Tyler Gaffalione who won the G1 Fourstardave, Antonio Gallardo with nine wins for the week, and John Velazquez who won two stakes races at Saratoga.

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Letters to the Editor: Jeff Thornbury On Arlington, James Graham

A little over 20 years ago, a young man from Ireland approached me about his wish to become a jockey in the United States. His name was James Graham. James impressed me so much with his dedication and work ethic that he soon was living at my home and galloping for me every day. His sweetheart, Lisa, joined him, they married, and Lisa became my treasured assistant trainer for a time. James showed tenacity and great athletic ability and became an apprentice rider.

He has always been the same every day; always sober, punctual, full of energy, and always full of fun. He has ridden for me and many others in a great career; racing in Kentucky, New Orleans, and Illinois. Arlington Park has always been a special place for him. I have watched him win (and lose) there over the years. I have enjoyed his antics and the rapport he has with the scores of kids that surround the winner's circle. He never fails to hand out as many goggles as he can while high-fiving with the crowd.

This past Saturday, Arlington ran its final “Million” weekend of races. The “Million” was reduced in purse size, but paid tribute to one of the finest men I have ever known in racing, Mr. Richard Duchossois. Those of us who have raced over the years at Arlington are heartbroken to see it parceled off, and this year any hope of saving it has evaporated. I first saw Arlington Park as a young kid while accompanying my father's partner, Dr. Robert Copelan, as he practiced there. I have always been in awe of its expanse and natural beauty, and the new grandstand is still one of the loveliest in the world. I have truly loved racing at Arlington.

The newly named “Mr. D Stakes” brought everything full circle for me. I watched my man James Graham take Two Emmys to the front, set a pedestrian pace down the backside, and sprint for home after they made the final turn to win this final Grade I stakes in typically cheeky fashion. This was the bright spot of the day for me and for many others, saddened to see racing end at this beautiful, heroic track. I was laughing at James's brilliant accomplishment, while crying at the same time, knowing that Arlington's time had come. Hats off to Mr. D., and hats off to James Graham for leaving us with a sweet taste we'll never forget.

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Two Emmys Too Good For Domestic Spending In Mr. D At Arlington

In a day filled with laments for the last of Arlington's biggest race cards, the race formerly known as the Arlington Million, renamed the Mr. D. in honor of former track owner Richard Duchossois, saw a surprise ending for the day's slate of graded stakes, with longshot Two Emmys going wire to wire in the Grade 1 turf stakes.

Two Emmys, a gelding by English Channel, comes into the Mr. D. with wins at the allowance and claiming levels, his best graded stakes showing a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., and the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes at Arlington last month. In the Mr. D., Two Emmys, with jockey James Graham grabbed the lead early, with Bizzee Channel and Strong Tide behind him. Chad Brown trainee Domestic Spending, the race's favorite, lingered in fourth, with Flavien Prat aboard. Controlling the pace throughout the first half of the race, Two Emmys still held on to a one-length lead six furlongs in after setting fractions of :26.12 for the first quarter, :52.43 for the first half, and 1:16.64 for the three-quarters.

Into the final turn, Bizzee Channel challenged Two Emmys, with Prat on Domestic Spending gearing up for a move in the stretch. Bizzee Channel could not stay with the leader, falling back as Prat and Domestic Spending started their closing kick. Two Emmys had plenty left in reserve, holding off the closing Brown trainee to win by a half-length. Glynn County was third, with Space Traveller in fourth. Bizzee Channel, Armory, Zulu Alpha, and Strong Tide rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the 1 1/4-mile Mr. D. Stakes was 2:03.34. Find this race's chart here.

Two Emmys paid $56.20, $9.80, and $5.80. Domestic Spending paid $2.40 and $2.10. Glynn County paid $8.00.

Bred in Kentucky by Tottenwood Thoroughbreds, Inc., Two Emmys is by English Channel, out of the Buddha mare Miss Emmy. Co-owned and trained by Hugh Robertson, the 5-year-old gelding is also owned by Wolfe Racing. Consigned by Vinery Thoroughbreds, Two Emmys was sold for $4,500 to Hugh Robertson and Wolfe Racing at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. With his win in the Mr. D. Stakes, Two Emmys has two wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 4-7-0 in 16 starts and $545,708 in career earnings.

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