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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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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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, 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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“I never thought I'd have a horse in the Million, and then when I do, it's not a million [dollars],” the long-time Chicago-based conditioner told TVG's Scott Hazelton following his neck defeat of Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}). “It's nice,” he said, before speaking for many a horse racing fan by saying, “but I wish they'd keep running.”

As it stands, that is not happening. Arlington did not apply for racing dates for 2022 and parent company Churchill Downs is in the process of reviewing bids for the property located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, about 20 miles away.

The money poured in for Domestic Spending, looking to give trainer Chad Brown a fourth straight 'Million' and the gelding was off as the 2-5 chalk. Two Emmys veered a bit to his right at the start, but James Graham righted the ship and the duo made it to the front easily, as Bizzee Channel (English Channel) and Strong Tide (English Channel) gave chase through an opening two furlongs in a dawdling :26.12. Flavien Prat had Domestic Spending handier than is his custom, no surprise given the lack of pace, while Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was ridden back in the field by Ryan Moore and raced without the benefit of cover into the first turn.

Two Emmys expended no energy whatsoever down the Arlington backstretch, getting the half in walking time of :52.43 before upping the tempo somewhat past six furlongs in 1:16.64. Committed for home from there, Two Emmys was asked for his best in upper stretch and had just enough in the tank to hold off the late challenge of the chalk, who finished the race on his incorrect lead while gaining inches late.

“I knew he would go that far, but they let him go a really soft pace and he's a tough horse,” said Robertson, whose most noteworthy runner was Polar Expedition, a five-time graded winner, including the 1993 GII Breeders' Futurity S. and 1994 GII Jim Beam S.

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

It was the fifth Grade I for the Irishman, who won the Central Bank Ashland S. aboard Karlovy Vary, the dam of GI Beverly D. S. runner-up Mean Mary, back in 2012.

A maiden winner for $20,000 at this venue two summers ago on the synthetic track, Two Emmys won one of his four starts over the winter at the Fair Grounds and closed that segment of his campaign with a runner-up effort to Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) in the GII Muniz Memorial S. in March. Given a three-month freshening, he resumed with a runner-up effort behind Bizzee Channel in a local third-level allowance June 19 and made most of the running in the GIII Arlington S. July 17, surrendering late to drop a neck decision to Bizzee Channel.

Pedigree Notes:

Two Emmys is the 11th top-level winner for the underrated English Channel, whose Illinois-bred The Pizza Man won the 2015 Million. Two Emmys' second dam, a full-sister to GISW Sunshine Forever, is responsible for SW & MGSP Don't Read My Lips (Turkoman), the dam of MGSW Hotstufanthensome (Awesome Again), MSW Tacit Agreement (Unbridled) and Silver Charades (Broad Brush).

Saturday, Arlington
MR. D. S.-GI, $600,000, Arlington, 8-14, 3yo/up, 1 1/4mT, 2:03.34, gd.
1–TWO EMMYS, 126, g, 5, by English Channel
                1st Dam: Miss Emmy, by Buddha
                2nd Dam: Our Dear Sue, by Roberto
                3rd Dam: Outward Sunshine, by Graustark
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST
GRADE I WIN. ($4,500 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Wolfe Racing LLC
& Hugh H. Robertson; B-Tottenwood Thoroughbreds, Inc.
(KY); T-Hugh H. Robertson; J-James Graham. $352,800.
Lifetime Record: 16-4-7-0, $545,708. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Domestic Spending (GB), 126, g, 4, Kingman (GB)–Urban
Castle, by Street Cry (Ire). (300,000gns Ylg '18 TATOCT).
O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (GB);
T-Chad C. Brown. $117,600.
3–Glynn County, 126, c, 4, Kitten's Joy–Quad Tens, by Rock
Hard Ten. ($45,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $80,000 2yo '19
OBSAPR). O-Three Diamonds Farm; B-Kenneth L. Ramsey &
Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Michael J. Maker. $58,800.
Margins: NK, 2 3/4, HF. Odds: 27.10, 0.40, 38.90.
Also Ran: Space Traveller (GB), Bizzee Channel, Armory (Ire), Zulu Alpha, Strong Tide. Scratched: Another Mystery, Big Dreaming. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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TVG's Mike Joyce and Scott Hazelton, both of whom with longtime family ties to horse racing in Illinois, will be live on site at Arlington Park with coverage including expert analysis and interviews as the track hosts eight stakes races including the $600,000 Mr. D. Stakes (G1), formerly the Arlington Million.

The Mr. D. Stakes (G1), renamed in honor of longtime track owner Richard L. Duchossois, has attracted a field of ten turf horses including Domestic Spending, the morning line favorite at odds of 6-5 for trainer Chad Brown who has saddled four winners of the Arlington Million including the last three winners. The 4-year-old gelding has won six of his seven lifetime starts and was last seen winning the Manhattan Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park in June. Flavien Prat will be in the irons.

At Del Mar this weekend, Todd Schrupp, Christina Blacker, Britney Eurton, Joaquin Jaime, and Larry Collmus will be trackside with exclusive interviews, insights and handicapping selections throughout Saturday's ten-race card. The featured event is the $80,000 PT, CTT and TOC Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 3/8 miles on the main track. Richard Mandella will saddle Tapwater, a homebred daughter of Tapit for LNJ Foxwoods. The five-year-old mare will have Umberto Rispoli aboard as she tries to earn her first stakes victory.

In addition to racing from Del Mar and Arlington Park, TVG will also be featuring Monmouth Park, Gulfstream Park, Pimlico and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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Zulu Alpha, who leads the field in career earnings at $2.2 million, makes his second start following 10 months off and hopes to run back to his form of 2020 when winning three of five graded stakes including the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes. Bizzee Channel just won the local prep for this race, the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes and goes for his third win in a row. Then there's Armory (IRE) – from the barn of Aiden O'Brien (who will bring along world class jockey Ryan Moore from across the pond as well) – who finished fourth in the Group 2 York Stakes in his most recent race and who won the Group 2 Hurley Stakes earlier this year.

Two Emmys missed by a head to Bizzee Channel in the Arlington Stakes and could be up to the task, as could Arlington Stakes third-place finisher Another Mystery. Strong Tide finished sixth in the non-graded Johnathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes in his most recent start and similarly Glynn County was fifth in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes around the same time and both appear overmatched in this field. Big Dreaming finished second in the Dueling Grounds Derby last summer and enters the race off an allowance win but is taking a very big step up on class to this grade 1 stakes level. Space Traveler (GB) is another European import. He has never run farther than one mile in his 19-race career and his most recent win came in the non-graded Ganton Stakes in June at a mile.

Armory (IRE) can add to the success European imports have had in Grade 1 races in the U.S. this summer, similar to Bolshoi Ballet winning the Belmont Derby and State of Rest winning the Saratoga Invitational Derby last weekend. Armory (IRE) has won five of 15 career starts, including one at this 10-furlong turf trip and one at the slightly longer distance of one and five-sixteenths miles. After a runner-up effort in the Group 1 Cox Plate in Australia last October, Armory (IRE) took time off to mature and returned as a 4-year-old to win the Hurley Stakes in May, earning a then career-best 118 Equibase® Speed Figure. Next, even when third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes in June at Royal Ascot, Armory (IRE) ran fantastically well when checking in third behind sensational turf star Love, improving his career-best figure to 122. Most recently, Armory finished third in the York Stakes last month, behind another superstar in Bangkok, with a 115 figure effort. Jockey Ryan Moore, who rode the trainer's Bolshoi Ballet to victory in the Belmont Derby earlier this year, comes in from Europe to ride and the only time he rode Armory (IRE) this year was to victory in the Hurley Stakes, which suggests Armory (IRE) is ready to win for the sixth time in his 16th career start and emerge victorious in the Mr. D. Stakes.

Domestic Spending (GB) is the strongest challenger to Armory (IRE) in this race, having earned a 119 figure when winning the Manhattan Stakes on Belmont Stakes day in June in his most recent start. Now having won four stakes in a row starting with the 2020 Saratoga Derby, Domestic Spending (GB) has proven he loves firing big off short rests, such as when winning the Hollywood Derby last fall and when winning the Turf Classic Stakes in May. Jockey Flavien Prat has been aboard for his last two wins and knows exactly when to tell Domestic Spending (GB) to change gears, just as he did in the Manhattan when going from 11 lengths behind the leader in seventh after a mile, to second with an eighth of a mile to go, before drawing off to win by nearly three lengths. Now possessing a six for seven in his career, if Domestic Spending (GB) runs as expected the likely stretch battle between him and Armory (IRE) may be one for the ages.

Zulu Alpha leads the field with 12 career wins and $2.2 million in earnings. Although more known as a horse who loves to run a mile and one-half, the distance he won the Elkhorn Stakes (116 figure) last year, Zulu Alpha has won at this 10 furlong trip as well and he has won on the Arlington Park turf course as well, something neither Armory (IRE) or Domestic Spending (GB) can claim. Having been away from the races since last September, Zulu Alpha's fifth-place finish in the Arlington Stakes last month can be viewed as a prep for this race. Having earned a career-best 123 figure in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes last year and a 116 figure in the Elkhorn, there can be little doubt Zulu Alpha can run well enough to win this race.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Another Mystery (113), Big Dreaming (106), Bizzee Channel (111), Glynn County (105), Space Traveller (GB) (112), Strong Tide (115) and Two Emmys (108).

Win contenders:
Armory (IRE)
Domestic Spending (GB)
Zulu Alpha

Mr. D. Stakes – Grade 1
Race 9 at Arlington Park
Saturday August 14 – Post Time 7:13 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Quarter on Turf
Three Year Olds and Upward
Purse: $600,000

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