The Diarmida – Grade II
$200.000 – For Four Year Olds And Upward
1 3/8 Miles – Inner Turf
Gulfstream Park – February 28, 2026
The Diarmida has been run twenty-one times before this year’s edition. It was a G3 in it’s inaugural running in 2004 but moved up to a G2 in 2010. In the last decade its list of winners reads like a Hall of Fame roster of top turf horses having hosted titans like Techfluence, Raj Action Packed, Spankersville and King Que Niagra in its winner’s circle in recent years. The 2026 race has drawn a full field of twelve with one on the Also Eligible list seeking to join that illustrious group. The forecast as of this writing shows almost a 70% chance of rain so we will preview the race with that in mind. (Now that I’ve gone out on that limb you know the track will be lightning fast!)
1. King Z (Mb Stables/J.R. Velasquez) First of two entries from Mb Stables. The seven-year-old showed in his 2026 debut that he has not lost a step when he put up a 102 SRF speed figure finishing second by a nose in the G3 McKnight Stakes. He will be making his twentieth straight graded stakes start in The Diarmida. It is quite a feat to maintain elite form over that extended period of time. He draws the rail, has won on an off track and is working holes in the wind.
2. Ello Santa (Mb Stables/L. Dettori) Second entry from Mb Stables is only four but has already banked over $4,000.000 in sixteen lifetime starts. That statistic alone tells you all you need to know about his quality without even looking at his past performances. He has won seven graded stakes including the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf. He just missed winning the BC Turf as a three-year-old by a long neck finishing third at Del Mar last November. It would normally be a no-brainer to put him on top of your list of contenders but his four-year-old unveiling gives you pause. Sure, it was one of the premiere turf events of the season and a big ask after a small break, but it was the worst race of his career challenging a fast pace early but then fading to eleventh overall. The pace was fast but other pacesetters held on well that day. His works are fast so the Pegasus may be one to ignore. He is here so his trainer obviously thinks so. He has never competed on an off track.
3. Alydar (D J C Racing/P. Lopez) Another top three-year-old last year who disappointed in the Pegasus to kick off his four-year-old campaign. He has earned over $3,000.000 by virtue of big purse placings on the Derby trail last year and taking down the $3,500.000 G3 Nashville Derby last summer, a race that also gave him his first and only graded stakes win to date. His one wet track start was an eleventh place on a sloppy track in last year’s Kentucky Derby which you can’t really weigh too heavily in your handicapping, but it isn’t a positive. He is an enigma and like Ello Santa will need to prove his form can carry over from his stellar sophomore season.
4. Whipped (The Sidley Stud/R. Bejarano) Picked up in the great Smokey lottery last January and has won multiple stakes since including the G2 Henry Championship three starts back. Like a couple of others in the field, he made his seasonal debut in the McKnight Stakes in January and ran a pretty disappointing seventh running evenly throughout. That race was also on the Gulfstream Park inner turf course which could be discouraging but he has run well multiple times on this track before including a stakes win shortly after being purchased. He joins the ranks of horses coming off of sub-par races in the new season who are nonetheless still working well so a true measure of his 2026 form is yet to be shown. He has two wins from three starts on a wet track so dark clouds on the horizon are a welcome sight for the barn.
5. Salah (Royalty Stables/M. Franco) Another good 2025 three-year-old looking to stake claim to being a leading older horse as a four-year-old. Unlike others he chose to make his first start of his new season in an overnight rather than a stakes race. Similar to others, that first four-year-old start could be categorized as a disappointment finishing fourth. He is a graded stakes winner, and he finished a solid third in the BC Dirt Mile to close out his season. He is making his very first grass start in this race and although his works are fast and indicate he can handle the surface he has picked a tough spot to prove his versatility. Other things to consider are that he has not won beyond a mile and a sixteenth and he finished sixteenth in last year’s Derby which was his only off-track start. If he wins, he will remove several question marks but there is no doubt he is talented and capable on any given day.
6. Boss Spearman (John Henry/T. Gaffalione) He was one of the top three-year-olds last year winning the G1 Arkansas Derby before finishing second in the Kentucky Derby over a sloppy track. He was privately purchased after his sixth-place finish in the Preakness for $500.000. He has raced six times since the sale and has finished in the money one time. The good news is that his best race for the John Henry barn was in his last start when he finished second in the G2 Pincay in the mud the day after Christmas. Like Salah directly inside he will be making his turf debut, but his grass works are good. A wet track moves him up.
7. Pinewood Derby (D. Blazin/M.J. Husbands) Finished a good third in his tuneup race, an overnight at Santa Anita. Fine as far as normal season openers go but it has to be considered a bit of a letdown after he finished off last season on fire winning three of his last four starts. All three of those wins were stakes including a G2 and a G3. He nearly completed his graded collection when he finished a close second in the G1 Hollywood Derby in his last 2025 start. All ten of his lifetime starts have been on the grass and he has hit the board in nine of the ten. He has finished second in his one start on a wet track. He has never been asked to race this far but his running style would indicate that the distance shouldn’t be a problem. Hard to knock a horse that shows up every time, but he is facing the toughest field of his career so he will be getting a real test in his initial four-year-old stakes start.
8. Central Hawkes Bay (Czech Out Farms/F. Geroux) He won the American Derby for his only stakes win but that was two years ago, and he has been struggling to find consistent stakes form since. He was claimed for $25.000 last summer at Saratoga when he won a race at that prestigious meet by six lengths at today’s distance. He has hit the board in two of three starts for his new barn and had a very encouraging second place run in the Connally BC Turf losing to superstar Penal Hockey Party by only a half-length on a yielding track. Despite his resume not being as hefty as many others that last race might indicate that he has found good form as a five-year-old and is a legitimate threat on what looks likely to be another soggy grass course.
9. Cochabamba (Riggins Racing/S.X. Bridmohan) Multiple graded stakes winner on the grass started off the season with a twelfth-place finish in The Pegasus World Cup Turf. Several others in this race also finished up the track that day and you can excuse those finishes given the quality of that field. He has shown the ability to rebound after a subpar performance before. He won the G3 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes after running eighth in the BC Turf to close out 2025. He has only one start on an off track and although he finished off the board that race was on dirt and was almost two years ago, so you have to throw that out and consider his wet track ability an unknown.
10. Kegger (Ajm Stables/Edg. Perez) Was claimed for what turned out to be a bargain $40.000 last April and went on to win multiple stakes for his new barn including the G2 Bowling Green and the prestigious Saratoga meet last summer. He opened up his year with a good third place in the McKnight Stakes where he closed fast but could not quite get to the winner and to second place King Z who he will see again today and who drew a much better post down on the rail. He gets less distance today should he choose to employ his usual closing style, but he is working as fast as anyone else in the field. He has not hit the board in two wet track efforts.
11. Great Vault (Winning Link Stables/L. Salles) His season opening thirteenth place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf had to be a disappointment for the barn following his near miss second place in the BC Turf last November. Last season also showed him in the winner’s circle after the G1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga, so you have to forgive the Pegasus and chalk it up to maybe being rusty off of a little break. He has proven that he can handle an off track having finished second in the G2 BEL Gold Cup also at Saratoga last summer. He finished fifth in last year’s Diarmida and is looking to better that effort but post eleven does not help his cause.
12. Edged Out (TwinTowersRacing/M.J. Sanchez) His seventh place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf almost looks good compared to others in this race especially against some of his more accomplished fellow four-year-olds. He was closing strongly in the stretch that day and gets an additional quarter mile to close into today. He won the G3 Hill Prince in his final start as a three-year-old and it looks like he may have come back as an improved four-year-old having posted his first triple digit SRF to start his year. He has two wet track starts finishing third in both so rain should not be a concern. He draws post twelve but given his running style he should be able to drop back to make his run.
AE. Hail Justice (Team 7 Illusions/TBD) With the expected rain he could very likely draw into the field. He won his last start going a mile and a half on a soft turf course which augers well but that was also against a much less accomplished group. It was also the first time in four wet track starts that he was in the money so that win may be a bit misleading as to his off-track ability. He is capable of running a good one in graded company as he has done it before and is another you have to consider might be maturing and even better as a four-year-old.
Tough field with so many quality and accomplished veterans along with newly minted four-year-olds not to mention some big swings in form and disappointing starts to 2026. Given that you have to go with the horse on the rail who has the history and showed form already this season, so King Z is my pick. I also like Pinewood Derby as a long shot second choice as he never runs a bad one. This is an acid test for him but I think he might surprise. Kegger is consistently good and also started his year well, so I will slot him third with Ello Santa fourth.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES