Mr. Buff lands 11th stakes victory in Stymie

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

The wire came just in time for Mr. Buff Saturday, with Chester and Mary Broman’s homebred gelding holding off Limonite to win the $125,000 Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct.

Racing at 1 mile on the sloppy and sealed main track against open company, Mr. Buff was quick out of the gate and only two other runners stuck with the 7-10 favorite early. Manny Franco stayed relaxed and Mr. Buff looked comfortable down the backstretch, looking like he’d be on the way to another romp through a half-mile in :45.51.

Mr. Buff still led at the top the stretch and after 6 furlongs in 1:09.97. In the lane, Limonite loomed large to his outside and longtime pursuer Musical Heart looked a bit resurgent after dropping a few lengths behind.

The winning post came just in time for Mr. Buff as the big gelding won by a half-length over the too-late Limonite with Musical Heart another half back in third. Mr. Buff secured his 11th stakes victory in 1:36.97.

“(Musical Heart) kept pushing my horse and I know my horse can rate but I just wanted to let him do his thing,” Franco said. “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 outruns the other horses. 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 needed 25 races to win his first stakes race but once he visited the winner’s circle in the 2018 Alex M. Robb at Aqueduct he turned into a stakes-winning machine. He’s won or placed in 13 of his next 19 races – all at the stakes level.

Mr. Buff is a third generation homebred for the Bromans, who also bred his sire Friend Or Foe and his grandsire Friends Lake after buying that horse’s dam for $900,000 at the 1997 Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training. The other half of Mr. Buff’s story also started in Kentucky, where the Bromans purchased his Grade 3-placed dam Speightful Affair at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale for $80,000.

Six and not in foal at the time of purchase, Speightful Affair had produced a New York-bred colt the previous year who would go on to be the stakes-placed Organic Gemini. The Bromans sent her to Friend Or Foe and the rest is history.

Mr. Buff was the first of three foals to result from Speightful Affair visiting Friend Or Foe with the gelding also having a year-young winning half-brother named Cain Is Abel and an unraced 3-year-old full sister named Miss Buff. Between her visits that produced those two, she was bred to Scat Daddy to produce the four-time winner Daddy Knows.

After a year off, Speightful Affair foaled a New York-bred Accelerate colt last April.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/02/27/mr-buff-lands-11th-stakes-victory-in-stymie/

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Hush of a Storm enters Derby fray in Battaglia

By Tom Law

Hush of a Storm survived a lengthy inquiry and picked up points toward a possible spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate in Friday night’s $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park.

The 3-year-old son of Creative Cause, the lone New York-bred in the field of 11, rallied in the stretch for a 1 ½-length victory over Like the King with even-money favorite Gretzky the Great a neck back in third. Hush of a Storm, who won the 1 1/16-mile Battaglia in 1:44 over the Tapeta Footings synthetic surface in showery conditions in Northern Kentucky, won his third straight race for trainer Bill Morey and owner Joseph P. Morey Jr. Revocable Trust.

Hush of a Storm also earned 10 points toward a possible spot in the Derby field with the victory, which also figures to set him up for a run in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks March 27 at Turfway. The Jeff Ruby offers 100 points to the winner in the Road to the Kentucky Derby series along with 40 to the runner-up, 20 to third and 10 to fourth. Hush of a Storm’s 10 points put him 20th on the standings through Friday.

Bred by Dr. Doug Koch’s Berkshire Stud in Pine Plains, Hush of a Storm improved to 3-for-4 in the Battaglia. Each of the victories have come at Turfway – a 1-mile maiden special weight Dec. 19 and a 1-mile optional Jan. 6.

Stretched out another sixteenth for the Battaglia and sent off as the 6-1 third choice under Santiago Gonzalez, Hush of a Storm raced toward the back early while Gretzky the Great set the pace through opening fractions of :23.86 and :47.11 just ahead of Pico d’Oro. Gretzky the Great still led through 6 furlongs in 1:11.24 while Like the King made a run past the quarter pole ahead of Hush of a Storm.

From the outside in the trio of Hush of a Storm, Like the King and Gretzky the Great battled in the lane, with the eventual winner bearing in a bit in deep stretch. Rafael Bejarano took up a bit inside the sixteenth pole aboard Like the King but still managed to edge Gretzky the Great the finish.

Stewards conducted a review of the stretch run of the first four finishers but made no change.

Hush of a Storm is the first foal out of the winning Flatter mare Hush Now. Consigned by Winter Quarter Farm, agent for Berkshire Stud, he sold for $60,000 to Northway Bloodstock at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred sale.

Consigned by Nick de Meric’s de Meric Sales, agent, at last year’s OBS Spring sale of 2-year-olds in training, Hush of a Storm breezed a quarter-mile during presale workouts in :21.3 before being purchased by Joseph P. Morey Trust for $75,000.

Hush Now, who is out of the unraced Quiet American mare Silence Please, won and earned $68,784 for owner and breeder Berkshire Stud before retiring prior to the 2017 season.

Hush Now is a full sister to multiple stakes winner and $358,487-earner Brigand and a half sister to stakes winner and $137,651-earner Sky Music.

Brigand, a $925,000 2-year-old in training purchase in 2011; Sky Music, a $140,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling; and Hush Now were all bred by Berkshire Stud.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/02/26/hush-of-a-storm-enters-derby-fray-in-battaglia/

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Make Mischief rallies up inside to win Maddie May

By Tom Law

Make Mischief showed plenty of promise early, starting as a yearling when she brought $285,000 and the sixth most expensive price at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred sale.

The daughter of Into Mischief backed up that potential with results last summer, winning her debut at Belmont Park before back-to-back placings in graded stakes and another stakes placing against fellow state-breds at Saratoga Race Course. She added another win in late January to further bolster the pedigree of her 100 percent winner-producing dam, the winning Speightstown mare Speightful Lady.

Make Mischief further bolstered those credentials – her own and Speightful Lady’s – even more Saturday at Aqueduct when she came up the inside late to win the $100,000 Maddie May Stakes for 3-year-old New York-bred fillies.

Make Mischief, the 8-5 favorite running in Gary Barber’s pink and black colors under Eric Cancel, outdueled fellow Saratoga New York-bred sale graduate Brattle House in deep stretch to win by a neck for her first stakes victory. Vacay, the 7-2 second choice, finished 2 ¼ lengths back in third. Trained by Chris Englehart, Make Mischief won the 1-mile stakes in 1:40.55 on the muddy main track.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking in the stretch,” Cancel said of the tight quarters in the lane. “I had the hole at the beginning of the stretch, but then it started closing in pretty tight. I just had to keep on guiding her and work my way to victory. I tried to ride her comfortable. From the quarter pole to the wire, I did my job and I’m glad she helped me do it.”

Cancel, who won three races Saturday at the Big A, rode Make Mischief for the first time in the Maddie May. She’d been ridden by five other jockeys in her six prior starts – Jose Ortiz for the maiden win in June, John Velazquez for her runner-up efforts in the Grade 3 Schuylerville and Grade 2 Adirondack, Joel Rosario for her runner-up in the Seeking The Ante and Abel Cedeillo when fifth in the Grade 2 Chandelier at Santa Anita Park in late September.

Make Mischief made those first five starts for trainer Mark Casse. She prepped at Casse’s training center in Ocala late last year and early in 2021, including five breezes from mid-December to mid-January, before the Canadian Hall of Famer sent her north to join Englehart’s string at Belmont. She won her return to New York in a 7-furlong optional at Aqueduct Jan. 31 to set up her run in the Maddie May.

Bred by Mario and Dawn Martinez’s Avanti Stable and foaled at Song Hill Thoroughbreds in Mechanicville, Make Mischief was purchased by Flamingo Bloodstock at the 2019 New York-bred sale. She sold late in the second of two sessions, the fourth most expensive yearling of the night, out of the Paramount Sales consignment.

She’s one of five winners out of Speightful Lady, purchased in foal to Uncle Mo by Mario Martinez for $75,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale.

Speightful Lady delivered her first foal a few weeks later, the Uncle Mo colt later gelded and named Motown Rhythm. He was her first winner, along with $220,450-earner Speightful Kitten, the $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling Jody’s Song and the $115,000 Saratoga select yearling Crescent Lady. Speightful Lady is also the dam of a yearling filly by Union Rags born last April named Speightful Lily.

Make Mischief’s Maddie May victory improved her record to 3-3-0 from seven starts and boosted her bankroll to $207,750.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/02/20/make-mischief-rallies-up-inside-to-win-maddie-may/

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Bankit topples open company in John B. Campbell

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Bankit rewarded those who backed the New York-bred son of Central Banker and made him the race favorite with an easy victory in Saturday’s $100,000 John B. Campbell Stakes at Laurel Park.

Waiting an extra week for the Campbell after it was rescheduled due to a winter storm didn’t hurt the Steve Asmussen trainee, who looked to be at his peak after a two-month break. Bankit broke from the widest stall in the field of eight and jockey Sheldon Russell let him pick his spot with only one horse beaten early.

Zabracadabra and Deal Driven raced through early fractions of :24.10 and :47.48, setting the run up perfectly for Bankit. As the field entered the far turn, Russell was ready to let his mount stretch his legs and the 5-year-old Bankit happily complied when the jockey let his reins out a notch.

Swiftly passing most of the field by the time they hit the top of the Laurel stretch, Bankit was full of run for the closing stages. He briefly hung with the trio of dueling leaders before moving on with Galerio the only horse to go with him. Bankit had gotten the jump on Galerio, who was never able to shrink the advantage, and the race was over . Bankit won by 1 3/4 lengths from Galerio, who was a clear second with Cordmaker another 1 1/4 lengths back in third. Bankit won the 1 1/16-mile stakes in 1:42.07.

The race went to plan for Russell, who knew Bankit would be hard to beat.

“You can see on the Form he runs better with just a little bit of a stalking trip so I let him break sharp,” Russell said. “A couple of the inside horses went, and he got into a good spot going into the first turn. About the half-mile pole I felt I had a lot of horse. I opted to hang him out there five wide and he just got to running. And I knew at the top of the stretch, he pricked his ears, he’s a professional horse to ride.”

The victory was the fifth for Bankit and second straight stakes victory after winning the Alex M. Robb Stakes last out. Bankit has finished in the top three in 17 of his 26 starts with $876,675 in earnings.

From the first crop of McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds’ Central Banker, Bankit was foaled at that same farm in Saratoga Springs for breeders Hidden Brook Farm LLC and Blue Devil Racing. He is the first foal out of the Blue Devil Racing-raced Sister In Arms, who that owner bought for $125,000 at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga select yearling sale.

Bankit followed his dam’s footsteps when bringing $85,000 in that same ring during the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale when sold by Hidden Brook. From there, their paths diverged with Bankit then going through the ring as a 2-year-old when bought by current co-owner Winchell Thoroughbreds for $260,000 at the OBS March sale. Winchell later added a partner in Willis Horton Racing LLC.

Sister In Arms won two of her six starts before retiring in 2015 and visiting Central Banker. The mare also has Kentucky-bred 3- and 4-year-olds and gave birth to a Good Magic colt last year before visiting Street Sense.

Sister In Arms is following a family tradition with each of her first six dams producing stakes performers. Among those in Bankit’s family are U.S. champions Action This Day and Drefong, European champion Star Catcher and Grade 1 winners Cannock Chase and Bodemeister.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/02/20/bankit-topples-open-company-in-john-b-campbell/

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My Boy Tate turns back clock in Hollie Hughes

By Tom Law

The votes continue to roll in to determine the 2020 New York-bred divisional champions; just two days remain before they’re locked down.

The connections of My Boy Tate won only one of seven last year and didn’t land among the nominees, after back-to-back appearances for the son of Boys At Tosconova in 2018 and 2019. He figures to be back in the mix for 2021 after a victory in Monday’s $93,000 Hollie Hughes Stakes at Aqueduct.

My Boy Tate won the 6-furlong Hollie Hughes for the second time, adding his 1 ¼-length score Monday over Big Engine to his victory at odds-on in 2018.

Facing just three opponents following the scratch of Our Last Buck in this year’s Hollie Hughes, My Boy Tate and jockey Manny Franco were content to trail the quartet early while Tribecca and Amundson sparred on the front end. Tribecca, one of five nominees for champion New York-bred male sprinter in 2020 and the Hollie Hughes 7-5 favorite, cut fractions of :22.98 and :46.71 before shrugging off Amundson on the turn and opening a narrow lead in the lane.

“I had the perfect pace scenario in front of me,” Franco said. “I just took my time with him. I’ve been riding him and I’m usually close to the pace, but today, with a short field, I just let them go to the front and the move worked out because they came back to me.”

My Boy Tate wore down Tribecca and Big Engine late, taking the lead with about 70 yards to go to win going away. Big Engine held second, three-quarters of a length clear of Tribecca with Amundson eased in the lane.

“It was the perfect setup,” said Michelle Nevin, who bred, trains and owns My Boy Tate with Little Red Feather Racing. “Manny did the right thing. He sat chilly and let them come back to him.”

Nevin, who bred My Boy Tate out of the Sharp Humor mare Backlash, blamed herself for doing the wrong thing last time when she ran the 7-year-old gelding in the 7-furlong Say Florida Sandy Stakes Jan. 9 at Aqueduct. He’d finished fourth against open company in the Gravesend Stakes just a week prior and finished fourth again, behind stablemate Our Last Buck, Funny Guy and Runningwscissors.

“I was mad at myself last month … the temptation of coming back against a small field made me come back too quick,” Nevin said. “The scenario of the race looked like it was void of speed and he has speed. But as he has gotten older, he’s changed his ways. He’s happier to let them go a little bit, settle in and then come with a run.

“It’s great to see him run. He’s been a fun horse since he was a baby. He keeps showing up for me and keeps trying.”

My Boy Tate is the second foal out of the winning mare Backslash, a mare Nevin used to gallop that she admitted back in 2019 “didn’t know what to do with so decided to just breed her.”

Backslash’s first foal, the Frost Giant gelding Linkappleyard, won three of nine starts for Nevin as breeder-owner-trainer, and the third, a now 6-year-old Bluegrass Cat horse Charlie McCoy, is 3-4-1 from 13 starts with earnings of $186,191 for Nevin and partners Little Red Feather and Kevin Bogart. Blackslash’s fourth foal, the 4-year-old Big Brown gelding Slash Gordon, won at first asking last March at Aqueduct before a fourth in the Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes last summer at Saratoga.

Nevin also bred Blackslash’s now unraced 3-year-old Micromanage colt Michael Scott and co-bred her 2-year-old unnamed Bernardini filly and yearling filly by Frosted with Godolphin.

My Boy Tate improved to 8-for-22 and boosted his earnings to $527,288 in the Hollie Hughes, run for the 42^nd time and named in honor of the 1973 Hall of Fame trainer who conditioned top runners on the flat and over jumps. A native of Amsterdam, N.Y., Hughes trained 1916 Kentucky Derby winner George Smith and won the American Grand National six times.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/02/15/my-boy-tate-turns-back-clock-in-hollie-hughes/

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Nicky the Vest dominates Gander Stakes

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Two months after an impressive debut maiden win, Nicky the Vest stayed undefeated when running away to a dominating victory as the even-money favorite in Sunday’s $100,000 Gander Stakes for 3-year-old New York-breds at Aqueduct.

Nicky the Vest took the lead early in the 1-mile stakes before letting Lobsta head the field to his inside and through the opening quarter-mile in :23.61. That pair raced through that fraction and the half in :47.17 with Kendrick Carmouche keeping Nicky the Vest within a neck of Lobsta down the backstretch.

Carmouche asked his colt to get serious on the turn and before Lobsta could respond he lost the lead with Nicky the Vest quickly a length in front. From there, Nicky the Vest looked like he was out for a morning breeze from there, with Carmouche just using his whip to keep the colt’s attention as they romped to an 11 3/4-length victory.

“We were very pleased with him,” said Jonathan Thomas, who trains Nicky the Vest for Robert LaPenta. “He trained that way leading up to it and it’s always nice to see what you’re seeing in the morning replicated in the afternoon.”

“We felt we needed to get him out of [the gate]. His stamina is a key strength of his and we didn’t want to get him in behind horses and have him take dirt. That’s an unknown variable with him. We didn’t want to do that today, so we planned on being aggressive.”

After dominating New York-breds, Thomas now has his eye on a potential Kentucky Derby prep with the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes March 6 an option.

“If we do step out [outside of New York-bred company], he’s run well here on this track so it stands to reason we would stay here,” Thomas said. “Because we gave him 60 days between his maiden win and this start, I’d feel comfortable we could contemplate that. But we’ll leave that up to the team.”

Bred by Highclere, Nicky the Vest was purchased by Insignia Bloodstock for $110,000 at the 2019 OBS October yearling sale from Stuart Morris, agent.

Nicky the Vest is the second stakes performer for his dam Tazarine as a half-brother to the stakes-placed Mom’s Choice. Both are second generation Highclere-breds with Nicky the Vest’s Grade 3-placed granddam Doppio Espresso bought by the operation for $24,000 in the 1990s.

One of six winners from six to race out of Tazarine, Nicky the Vest is her youngest foal and first born in New York.

A two-time winner herself, Tazarine is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Resplendency and to the granddam of Japanese Grade 2 winner Little Gerda.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/02/14/nicky-the-vest-dominates-gander-stakes/

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