Mr. Buff cruises to comfortable front-running victory in Jazil Stakes

By Sarah Mace

First to strike the lead and first to cross the finish line, Mr. Buff dominated the field of Aqueduct’s featured $100,000 Jazil Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8-miles Saturday.

This was a second straight stakes win – and fourth consecutive victory – for Chester and Mary Broman’s 5-year-old gelding, who is a third-generation homebred through the male line. Mr. Buff is sired by the couple’s homebred multiple stakes winner Friend or Foe, who stands stud at Smallwood Farm in Virginia. His sire, in turn, is Grade 1 Florida Derby winning Broman homebred Friends Lake.

Reunited with jockey Junior Alvarado, who was aboard Mr. Buff for a pair of races last March and April, and bet down to the 7-2, second choice in the wagering behind 1-2 Sunny Ridge, the speedy Mr. Buff surprised no one when he hit the ground running. By the time the field of six rounded the clubhouse turn, the chestnut had established a 1 1/2-length lead.

Ticking off temperate early splits of 25.05 and 49.90, Mr. Buff preserved a comfortable one-length advantage over Thebigfundamental who tracked in second in the two-path and Sunny Ridge who tracked another half-length back three-wide along the backstretch.

In the far turn Mr. Buff’s pursuers geared up to deliver a challenge and closed ranks, while Sunny Ridge advanced into second. Just past the quarter pole, however, Mr. Buff sealed the deal.

Kicking clear and widening his lead to an insurmountable margin, Mr. Buff crossed the wire geared down a 5 1/4-length winner in a final time of 1:50.71. Sunny Ridge in second, finished 1/2-length in advance of Thebigfundamental who stayed on for third. Next in order, another neck and head back, respectively, were Hero’s Welcome and Title Ready, while Holiday Bonus brought up the rear. [VIDEO REPLAY[3]]

Alvarado recounted an easy ride for him and picture-perfect performance by his mount.

“That’s his running style, to get to the lead, Alvarado said. “Thankfully, we got there without much trouble and he wasn’t pressured. I just had to put him on the lead, and he knows what to do from there. He took me all the way around. I was just a passenger today. When I asked him for a run in the stretch, he was there for me and he gave me a great kick today. I was just a passenger, to be honest.”

A winner of eight races from 26 career starts with six seconds and three thirds for trainer John Kimmel, Mr. Buff pushed his earnings over the half-million dollar threshold with the Jazil score ($540,786).

Mr. Buff’s dam is Speightful Affair (Speightstown), a graded stakes placed Ontario-bred who was purchased by Chester and Mary Broman for $80,000 at the Fasig-Tipton 2013 winter mixed sale. Her first foal, Organic Gemini who was bred in New York by Turtle Bird Stable (FO 2012), is a stakes placed runner and all three foals to start are winners. In 2018 Speightful Affair produced a full sister to Mr. Buff and has been bred back to Friend or Foe.

 

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2019/01/26/mr-buff-jazil-stakes/

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