Mr. Buff Overpowers New York Breds Again in Stymie
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Joe Labozzetta
Mr. Buff wins the Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack
New York-bred Mr. Buff tallied another stakes win Feb. 27 at Aqueduct Racetrack, commanding a swift pace on the front end and holding on for victory against Limonite's late confrontation in the $121,250 Stymie Stakes.
A Chester and Mary Broman homebred, Mr. Buff arrived at the open company one-turn mile for older horses off his third straight win in the Jazil going nine furlongs at Aqueduct. The John Kimmel trained son of Friend Or Foe owns triumphs in multiple New York-bred stakes events for older dirt horses on the New York Racing Association circuit, including the Alex M. Robb Stakes, the Empire Classic Handicap, the Evan Shipman Stakes, the Saginaw Stakes, and the Haynesfield Stakes, which he won last February by 20 lengths.
Mr. Buff was asked from the gate by jockey Manny Franco and established a one-length lead ahead of Alwaysmining and Musical Heart to mark the opening quarter-mile in :22.96 over a sloppy and sealed main track.
Alwaysmining dropped out of contention approaching the turn with the half-mile in :45.51, leaving Mr. Buff and Musical Heart alone on the front end. Franco remained relaxed aboard Mr. Buff as Dylan Davis asked Musical Heart for more run through the turn.
Franco gave Mr. Buff his cue at the quarter pole with a stubborn Musical Heart 2 1/2 lengths back in second. The pair continued to race one-two a sixteenth out from the wire, as Limonite and Eric Cancel launched a furious late bid on the far outside from the four-path. Class prevailed in the end as Mr. Buff held on for a half-length victory in a final time of 1:36.97. It was another half-length back to Musical Heart in third.
Tintoretto and Alwaysmining completed the order of finish.
Mr. Buff ($3.40) registered his 11th stakes win and added $68,750 to his already lucrative bankroll, which now stands at $1,364,536 through a 17-8-4 record from 44 starts. A stakes winner at all three NYRA circuit tracks, Mr. Buff has displayed quite the affinity for Aqueduct, with 10 wins and four seconds from 17 starts.
Franco said he wanted to establish a good early tempo.
"I wanted to make sure I broke out of there running," Franco said. "(Musical Heart) kept pushing my horse and I know my horse can rate but I just wanted to let him do his thing. When I got to the front, I was happy, and I know that's the way he likes to run.
"He's got a big stride and he just outrun the other horses," Franco added. "The last sixteenth I felt he was tiring, but I know he went pretty quick the first part, and that was my plan."
Mr. Buff is out of the graded stakes-placed Speightstown mare Speightful Affair. All four of her foals to race have been winners. She dropped an Accelerate colt in 2020 and was not bred for 2021.
Cancel said he was pleased with the late-charging effort from Limonite, who races for Brian and Kerry Novak and trainer Amira Chichakly.
"They were putting in a pretty decent pace at the beginning. It was a little quick for my horse to keep him up close," Cancel said. "But my horse, at the end, gave me all that he had, and we almost got there."