Mr. Buff returns to defend title in Saturday’s $175,000 Empire Classic Handicap at Belmont Park. NYRA Photo.
By Tom Law
Strong fields led by a cast of eight for the co-featured $175,000 Empire Classic Handicap were entered Wednesday for Saturday’s Empire Showcase program at Belmont Park.
Showcase Day features eight stakes that include the Empire Classic and $175,000 Empire Distaff Handicap on the card exclusively for New York-breds. The day starts at noon with the first of 11 races and the opening stakes, the $150,000 Maid of the Mist for 2-year-old fillies, goes as the second race at 12:40 p.m.
The eight stakes are worth $1.2 million with Saturday’s overall purse distribution at $1,412,000 for the 11-race card.
“The New York-breds are showing up all over the country and doing very, very well,” said trainer Jim Bond, who runs Rinaldi in the $150,000 Mohawk and Evaluator in the Empire Classic. “A day like this, to show the rest of the world how good they are, is important. It’s usually full fields and it’s nice to show all our hard work and give the owners and breeders their due acknowledgement for all the good things they do for us.”
The 1 1/16-mile Empire Distaff drew a field of seven fillies and mares and goes as the sixth race at 2:53 p.m.
Gary Broad’s Ratajkowski, the 123-pound top weight and defending champ, will look to bounce back from her fifth last time out sprinting the Union Avenue Handicap at Saratoga Race Course. The 6-year-old Drosselmeyer mare won the Critical Eye Stakes two starts back in her 2020 debut for trainer Graham Motion.
The Empire Distaff field also includes Ten Strike Racing’s homebred Critical Value, last year’s champion New York-bred 2-year-old filly. Trained by Jeremiah Englehart, the daughter of Bodemeister seeks her second win of 2020 in the Empire Distaff along with the Bouwerie Stakes in late June.
Ten Strike also sends out the Parx-based Lucky Move, who shoulders 120 pounds seeking to end a three-race win streak. The 6-year-old daughter of Lookin At Lucky won the Obeah Stakes in mid-June at Delaware Park before off-the-board finishes in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap, Grade 3 Shuvee Stakes and Lady’s Secret Stakes.
Chester and Mary Broman’s homebred Mr. Buff makes his third appearance – seeking his second straight win – in the Empire Classic for trainer John Kimmel. Third in the 2018 edition behind Pat On the Back and Can You Diggit before locking up champion New York-bred older dirt male honors with a victory in last year’s renewal, Mr. Buff returns from a brief freshening following a fifth in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Aug. 1.
Mr. Buff faces seven others in the 9-furlong Empire Classic, including 3-year-old and Albany Stakes winner Chestertown. The Bromans bred the son of Tapit out of their Grade 1-winning Roman Ruler mare Artemis Agrotera and sold him for $2 million at last year’s OBS March 2-year-olds in training sale. The Bromans stayed on as partners in the gray colt, who also runs for West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing, Siena Farm and Rob Masiello.
Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Chestertown brings a record of 2-3-1 from eight starts to his first start against older horses in the Empire Classic.
“He’s been doing well. Everyone was very excited about him at the beginning of the year and Steve has managed him very well,” said Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds. “He’s a bit of a challenge and he’s not a straightforward horse. That’s one reason why we gave him to Steve. He has a proven track record with Tapits and they can be a challenge to train.”
The Empire Classic is Race 10 with post time set for 5:05 p.m.
The Showcase Day card also includes the $150,000 Sleepy Hollow for 2-year-olds, $150,000 Ticonderoga for older fillies and mares on the grass, $125,000 Hudson Handicap for 3-year-olds up and at 6 1/2 furlongs, $150,000 Mohawk for older horses on the grass and $125,000 Iroquois for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Englehart figures to have a busy day with seven runners entered, including Party At Pages in the Maid of the Mist, Makingcents and Critical Value in the Empire Distaff and Captain Bombastic in the Hudson. Like many of his colleagues, owners and breeders, Englehart is excited for the opportunity.
“It gives us a chance to show off some of our better New York-breds,” he said. “We focus on buying New York-breds year in and year out, so it’s always nice when you have horses that can make these races. We’ve been fortunate the last few years to have won some of these races. Hopefully, these horses will represent our team well on Showcase Day.”
