Sycamore (Grade 2)- $400.00 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Turf
October 9, 2026

The race to watch on Friday will come from KEE, as a field of six will be grinding it out at a mile and a half on the turf in the 22nd running of the Grade 2 Sycamore. $400.00 will be split among the top four finishers, and that amount, which was first attained last year, is a high for the race. In that 2025 race, it was Gold Vault coming from behind to win by a length for The Sidley Stud. That one remains active, and was recently seen running second in a three horse field at the Hirsch Turf Classic. He won’t be here, but let’s hope the same thing doesn’t happen with the Sycamore as what happened in the Hirsch where six were entered, but only three ran. Weather won’t be an issue this time, so we should be good. Here’s the field!

1- Dramatic (Family Racing, ridden by J L Ortiz)- After scoring back to back wins in wire to wire fashion, including in the $100.00 Niagara Stakes, Dramatic got his chance for a massive score in the $2,000.00 KD Turf Cup. Unlike the races that he won, he was not on or even near the lead early on, running four lengths out at first call and never recovering, finishing in the double digits. We’re a month later, and while the purse is not that high, it’s still a big opportunity, and from my perspective, the way he starts the race is critical.

2- Kegger (Ajm Stables, ridden by J Lezcano)- It was party time for Ajm Stables about two months ago when Kegger came from right lengths out to win the Grade 1 Clement Turf at the Spa. That victory clinched his spot in the BC Turf, but Kegger has a little more work to do before we get there. The Clement was not a fluke either, as it earned him his fourth consecutive triple digit SRF, as he had been second in two prior graded races at SAR. He has a nice 5-2-3-0 track record at SAR, but it was at KEE where the trainer first met Kegger, claming him $40.00 back in April 2025. Second in the 2024 Sycamore.

3- P C Police (Threshold, ridden by B Curtis)- While Threshold may have seen Kegger get claimed from him for that $40.00, he was still able to get Sycamore runner through a claim of his own, getting P C Police for $25.00. He was untested two year old at that time, and has developed nicely since that point, eventually winning the $100.00 Green Carpet Stakes at BTP. The trainer wants to forget about the BEL Derby, and it looks like that may be a throw out. Third last time out in the DMR Derby. Also, he is one of the two three year olds in the field, and that will earn them a three pound weight allowance.

4- Go Go Goblin (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Here is the other three year old in the field, and he has run against P C Police in the past. They met in early August at the $250.00 Water Tower at ELP, and finished 1-2. However, it wasn’t that close, as Go Go Goblin scored a four length victory. Afterwards, he made his way to KD for the $3,000.00 Nashville Derby and came from the second half of the field to get up for second in the race. Seems to be getting better every time he hits the track.

5- Edward The Great (Gdp Inc., ridden by R Santana Jr)- With just four starts to his name, it would have been easy to have just assumed that Edward The Great is also one of the three year olds in the field. However, he is actually five, getting a period of almost three full years off. Now, he could be considered a major success story, but he isn’t there yet. He broke his maiden just two back at SAR, then won an allowance last time out at BEL three weeks ago. Perhaps we’ll write a big success story for him, as he has some very appealing works, but he’ll have to show it here.

6- Convincing (Diablo Diablo, ridden by V Espinoza)- Over his 27-race career, Convincing has run in a handful of graded races, but never won one of them. They were all early in his career, so when he ran in the Grade 2 DMR Handicap last time out, it marked a return to this level of over two years. Placed second in that race, so Diablo Diablo hopes that his horse can build on that here. Convincing is often competitive with hitting the board, but things seem to have to set up perfectly for him to visit the winner’s circle after a race. Works well and belongs here, but may be better off putting on the back end of trifectas than on top of one.

Prediction: 2-4-3-6

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES