Sycamore Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Spooky Channel Comes Out Of Sycamore Win In Good Condition

NBS Stable's Spooky Channel returned to trainer Jason Barkley's barn at Louisville's Trackside Training Center Friday night at 7:30 and was doing well Saturday, the day after his narrow victory over Grade 1 winner Two Emmys in the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

For the 32-year-old Barkley, Spooky Channel delivered his first graded stakes victory, which came on the heels of his first stakes victory with the same runner in the Remington Green Sept. 26 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

“No big celebration last night, just started the prep work for today,” Barkley said via text.

The 6-year-old Spooky Channel, the star of Barkley's 32-horse stable, came to the barn at the end of April as an $80,000 claim at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

“We liked his consistency and with the purse structures what they are, there will be plenty of opportunities for him,” Barkley said.

With no grass racing in Kentucky until next spring at Keeneland, Barkley expects to hit the road with Spooky Channel.

“The plan for him will most likely be the ($75,000) Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes (going 1 1/16 miles on the turf) the day after Christmas at Fair Grounds (in New Orleans, La.) with that being a steppingstone for the (Grade 3) John B. Connelly (Turf Cup) at Sam Houston (in Houston, Texas) that he won last January,” Barkley said.

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Spooky Channel Overhauls Two Emmys In Sycamore To Give Jason Barkley First Graded Victory

NBS Stable's Spooky Channel eased past longtime leader Two Emmys just before the finish line after a protracted stretch duel to prevail by a neck and win the 27^th running of the $150,000 Sycamore (G3) for 3-year-olds and up Friday afternoon at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Trained by Jason Barkley and ridden by Julien Leparoux, Spooky Channel covered the 1½ miles over a turf course labeled as good in 2:29.71.

The victory is the first graded stakes win for Barkley and his first Keeneland stakes win. It is the second Sycamore victory for Leparoux, who won in 2012 on Kindergarden Kid.

Two Emmys was first out of the gate under James Graham and led the field of 11 uncontested through fractions of :24.87, :49.51, 1:14.52 and 1:39.81 with Ry's the Guy and Spooky Channel tracking in the second and third spots.

The running order remained unchanged until the top of the stretch when Ry's the Guy dropped out of the pursuit and Spooky Channel took up the chase. Two Emmys maintained a narrow edge until deep stretch when Spooky Channel pushed by.

This is the third Grade 3 victory for Spooky Channel, whose previous scores came when trained by Brian Lynch for different ownership. Barkley claimed Spooky Channel for $80,000 at Churchill Downs in April.

Spooky Channel is a 6-year-old gelded Kentucky-bred son of English Channel out of the Kitten's Joy mare Spooky Kitten. With Friday's $90,000 check, he increased his earnings to $601,722 with a record of 25-11-4-0.

Spooky Channel returned $16.40, $6.80 and $5. Two Emmys returned $4.80 and $4.40 and finished 4¼ lengths in front of Ry's the Guy, who paid $5.20 to show under Chris Landeros.

It was another 1¾ lengths back to Bama Breeze, who was followed in order by Another Mystery, Sole Volante, Kentucky Ghost, Ajourneytofreedom, Glynn County, Yamato and Breakpoint (CHI).

Spooky Channel (left) races past front-running Two Emmys in deep stretch to win the Sycamore

Racing continues Saturday with a 10-race program beginning at 1 p.m. ET and featuring two stakes for 3-year-olds: the $250,000 Lexus Raven Run (G2) for fillies going 7 furlongs on the main track and the $150,000 Perryville going 7 furlongs on the main track. The Perryville is scheduled as the seventh race (4:12 p.m.), and the Lexus Raven Run is the ninth (5:16 p.m.).

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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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Red Knight Cruises To Stakes-Record Victory In Thursday’s Sycamore

Trinity Farm's homebred Red Knight surged to the front at midstretch and cruised to a 2-length victory over Postulation to win the 26th running of the $150,000 Sycamore (G3) for 3-year-olds and up on an overcast Thursday afternoon at Keeneland.

Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by James Graham, Red Knight covered the 1½ miles on a firm turf course in 2:28.81 to smash the stakes record of 2:29.55 established by Sharbayan (IRE) in 2003. It is the third victory in the Sycamore for Graham, who won in 2007 aboard Transduction Gold and 2013 on Najjaar.

Postulation led the field of 10 through fractions of :24.84, :51.08, 1:16.04 and 1:40.76 while Red Knight raced near the back of the pack.

On the far turn, Graham angled Red Knight off the rail and began splitting horses. He swung three wide into the stretch, collared Postulation at the eighth pole and drew clear for the victory.

“I saw what was happening around me,” Graham said. “Manny (Franco on Ziyad [GB]) moved out around the backside. Brian (Hernandez)'s horse (Eons) started to come out under pressure, and I split two horses and (Red Knight) came right back on the bridle, which was great. And then he accelerated turning for home. Everything went great. He was probably 2 lengths further back than I wanted to be, but it worked out.”

It was the first graded stakes victory for Red Knight, a 6-year-old New York-bred son of Pure Prize out of the Skip Away mare Isabel Away. The victory was worth $90,000 and increased his earnings to $732,158 with a record of 21-8-6-1.

Sent off as the favorite, Red Knight returned $6.80, $4 and $3. Postulation, ridden by Julien Leparoux, returned $6.80 and $4.20 and finished a head in front of Ziyad (GB) who paid $3.40 to show under Manny Franco.

It was another head back to North Dakota who was followed in order by He's No Lemon, Big Agenda, Aquaphobia, Eons, Split the Wickets and Morning Stride.

Racing continues Friday with a 10-day program beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET and featuring the 30th running of the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View (G3) for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Pin Oak Valley View will be run as the ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. post time.

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