Transylvania Stakes (Grade 3)- $600.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
April 3, 2026

There’s no need to wait until Saturday to see some of the best three-year-olds in virtual racing, as this Friday at KEE, the $600.000 Transylvania Stakes will take place. This is for those three-year-olds that prefer to do their running on the turf, and we’ll have a field of eleven taking part. The Transylvania Stakes was first contested in 2005 for $100.000, and it would not be until 2022 where we saw a purse greater than $150.000. Last year’s race was won by Big Blue, for Mb Stables, a horse that would win two more times on the year before finishing fifth in BC Mile. He’s still active but has not run since late January. Mb has won four of the last seven editions of the race and will bring three to the gate this year to try and continue that level of success, Let’s meet them and the eight others with different plans, now:

1- Divide Your Fears (Mb Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- After finishing second in a maiden race at SAR, Divide Your Fears was gelded later that day, and two weeks later would be entered into the Grade 1 Summer Stakes. Mb’s confidence in the geld paid off, as Divide Your Fears pulled off the win, one that would send him into the BC Juvenile Turf. He didn’t do much there and has not been in a stake since then. The last time we saw him in a race, it was in a State Bred optional claimer at SA where he went wire to wire. Now, he runs for a big purse once again.

2- No Prince (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- The first five races for No Prince were run for Bigking, and he was part of the exacta in all of them. At the start of this year, he would be sold for $200.000 to Mb Stables, and the colt has continued to show his ability to be near the race winner at the end. Down at GP, he would be run third in the Kitten Joy and then finished second in the Colonel Liam. In each of those races, he had to deal with varying degrees of an off track, and it didn’t bother him. Forecast data is “unavailable” in the game as I type this, so I have no idea what the weather will be like.

3- Yellowbrick Road (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by S Elliott)- Won three of his first eight races, and also finished third in the $1,000.000 KD Juvenile. This has allowed him to accumulate a little over $400.000, but now a new chapter will begin for him. At the beginning of March, he would be sold by La Canada Racehorses, to D J C for $150.000. He had won two stakes races in his prior three starts before the sale, so it looks like a good transaction for both sides, and he should be a contender here.

4- Darkest Bronze (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Hasn’t done much in his career thus far, as after all his career earnings stand at just $14.040. Only once has he gone long, and it was on the grass two starts ago at HOU in an N1X allowance, and he was defeated by three lengths. It will be easy to overlook him in this field, but everyone is here for a reason. But as I often say, I need to see it first.

5- Kuykendahl (Luz International, ridden by L J Luzzi)- Ever since he was gelded last September, Kuykendahl has been running very well, with wins in three of his last four starts. Two of those victories were sprints in high level allowances, which he then followed up by showing he can stretch out to a mile as he won the Texas Turf Mile over yielding turf. As he continues to show that he is up for whatever the trainer asks of him, he should be able to keep the positive momentum rolling.

6- Reign Supreme (Mb Stables, ridden by L Dettori)- This is the fourth start for the People Pleaser gelding, and he will look to extend his winning streak to three. He’s been good out west, breaking his maiden at SA, before winning the $100.000 Pasadena Stakes by three lengths about five weeks ago. Reign Supreme hasn’t faced a field of this quality yet but has certainly earned the opportunity to do so.

7- Shichiroji (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by F Geroux)- After getting his debut race out of the way, Shichiroji has done everything right in winning his next four. It took a little while for the trainer to get convinced to his ability, as he was twice put up for a $5.000 tag and then once for $20.000, but he is certainly relieved now that no else claimed him away. Stepped up nicely in his stake debut last time out, winning the $100.000 Black Gold Stakes and can make a name for himself here.

8- Right Noble (Pace With Grace, ridden by T Gaffalione)- After a little more than four months, Right Noble will be returning to the racetrack. It’s not because there was a problem with his last start, as after all he did run third in the Grade 3 DeMille Stakes and only missed by half a length. Before that, he had won a couple sprints, so everything seemed to be going well for him. Now, he will be unleashed for his three-year-old season and the trainer hopes that this rest will be beneficial. Works well, but you always have to wonder if there is some rust to shake off.

9- In The Drink (Pan Farms, ridden by R Bejarano)- This third quarter two-year-old looks to follow up his win in the $175.000 Colonel Liam last time out, a race where he knocked off No Prince along the way on soft turf. Prior to that, he had broken his maiden against CA-Breds at SA. Looks to make the jump into graded competition now, something that has been said about several of these, so we’ll see which one does it best.

10- Perfect Doubt (Bigchief Stables, ridden by A Fresu)- Right now, the most important thing to know about Perfect Doubt is that he is out of Perfect Class, who was a true force on the track and a past winner of the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. Has she passed that down to Perfect Doubt? Well, that’s still to be determined, as this third quarter two-year-old has also made only three starts thus far, and none are at the stake level. Last time out, he won his second race, an optional claimer at SA.

11- Gaelic Commander (High Voltage, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Last to load into the gate will be the reigning BC Juvenile Turf Sprint winner. That victory capped off a three-win campaign, as well as a second-place finish in the $1,000.000 KD Juvenile Sprint. It would also be the last time that he ran for Barcelona Farms, as he would be sold to High Voltage for $400.000. Gaelic Commander won his first race in his new silks, the $100.000 Baffle Stakes, before making an attempt at a KYD prep that saw him run mid-pack. He’s still unproven at the longer distances on the track but works well at longer distances.

Prediction: 3-1-5-11

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES