The Diarmida (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and Three Eighths on the Inner Turf
March 2, 2024

The card at GP on Saturday is a fantastic one, and turf horses are not going to be left out as the Grade 2 Diarmida will take place. This race is run on the inner turf course at eleven furlongs and offers a $200.000 purse to be divided amongst its top four finishers. That purse amount has been constant since 2014. One interesting thing about this race, is there are three different horses that have won back-to-back editions of the race: Bronze Sabre (2010 and 2011), Techfluence (2018 and 2019), and Raj Action Packed (2020 and 2021). That’s not something that will happen this year, as the 2023 winner, Spankersville, is not taking part. Fans at GP will immediately recognize that he won the Pegasus World Cup last month and has moved on to bigger and better things on the dirt. There will be eleven horses in this race, here’s a look at them!

1- Dark Arts (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Davis)- With two wins in 23 starts, this is tough horse to get excited about to pick to win, but he has hit the board in 16 of those races so he is typically competitive. He didn’t finish in the money in his last two, but we can certainly put a positive spin on anyone who finishes fifth in the BC Turf. The race that followed was the concerning one, as he was beaten by six lengths in the Grade 3 Connally BC Turf. That’s enough to have me look the other way.

2- Key To The Sunset (Invicta Group Llc, ridden by J Alvarado)- Picked up in October from High Voltage in a $5.000 private sale after sitting idle in that barn for over a year. He had been competitive, but seemed to be losing it towards the end, but Invicta Group Llc has done a great job getting him even better than he was before. This includes making his graded debut for his last race and scoring the win in the Grade 3 San Marcos over soft going. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to climb the ladder.

3- One Eyed Man (Fractious, ridden by D E Centeno)- Recently acquired by Fractious for $100.000 from Sheffler Stables, and has made one start since he was claimed for that amount. It came in the Grade 3 McKnight Stakes here last month, where he was fourth of nine. He has run in several graded races throughout his career, so this is not at all new territory for him. What he hasn’t done is win one of them yet. Maybe Fractious can change that.

4- Life Is Beautiful (Riggins Racing, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Making his debut for Riggins Racing after the trainer picked him in private sales for $230.000 just two weeks ago. This is clearly a race that he was targeting, especially since the horse was coming out of a win in the Grade 2 Connally BC Turf. Overall, he is on good form, with three wins in four races, but has changed trainer hands twice in that span. Hopefully he has found a long-term home now.

5- Neds Influence (The Sidley Stud, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This has been a great race for the trainer, as The Sidley Stud has won it three times, including two by Techfluence, the sire of Neds Influence. No reason why this five-year-old cannot made his dad proud with a win, just like he did in his last start: the Grade 2 Smith at AQU. I wonder slightly why he’s been idle for three months, but no matter that reason, Neds Influence kicks off his 2024 here and is working great coming into this.

6- King Z (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- You can certainly say that King Z has been passed around between many barns, as Mb Stables is the seventh trainer to own him. This is a horse that has 18 career starts, with five wins, and Mb has found something in him. The answer looks to have been to move him to the grass, where he is now 2-for-2 in his new silks, including winning the McKnight Stakes here last month. His works are great, and he may be on the cusp to having a very big year.

7- Wayward Prince (Angelos Stable, ridden by T Gaffalione)- While Mb Stables picked up a good King, he let the Prince get away. Angelos Stable picked him up for $32.000 in a SA claimer early in 2023, a race that he won, and would go onto to win four more times over the year, while earning over $300.000. Two of the wins are graded, with the most recent one being the Knickerbocker (Grade 3) at AQU in October. He’s been entered into bigger, but hasn’t had the same results, though did run second in the Grade 2 Smith, to Neds Influence. Shouldn’t be ruled out.

8- Bigmikesbluedress (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by F Geroux)- Recently made the jump into stakes competition, and it was in grand fashion: the $500.000 JC Derby (Grade 3). After running fourth there, he went on to win the Grade 2 Hill Prince. With everything seemingly going well for him, you have to wonder why he has not been back in a stake until now. He did run last month in an open allowance at SA and placed fourth. That was on the same day others here were running in the McKnight or the Connally BC Turf, and that result seemed a bit flat.

9- Ptyrannical (Arindel, ridden by P Lopez)- A horse that has done some great things in our game, and his earnings are approaching $3,000.000. He’s won multiple graded stakes, including the Pegasus World Cup Turf here in 2023, two months after running third in the BC Mile. This year’s Pegasus World Cup Turf was a much different story, as he started at the back and stayed there: finishing tenth. I love how he worked here at the start of February, and based on that, we should not be concerned about him. Look for Pytrannical to hit the board here, if not win.

10- Zwiesel (Jokerjoes, ridden by R L Moore)- After a successful career in overnights saw him consistently be able to cash checks, Zwiesel is going to be running at the stake level for the first time. That’s well-earned, coming off an optional claiming win at FG in his last start, which was in mid-January. A couple weeks ago, he turned in a strong work at FG before making his way to GP and will now face the stiffest challenge of his career. I like the timing of this move for him, and we will see now how he steps up.

11- Gallant (Royalty Stables, ridden by P Husbands)- Coming from the outside, Gallant hopes to remain on good form, as he has been a part of the exacta in each of his last four races. That includes to second place results at the graded level: the Grade 3 Station and Grade 2 Hernandez Stakes. For as good as he has been in the career, he is still looking to get over the hump of earning that first stake win but seems to be plenty capable. Five of his last seven starts have been on off tracks, but that shouldn’t be an issue here. Though, he may have liked that.

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES