Kimmel thinking about Clark Handicap for Mr. Buff

Mr. Buff, one-length winner of Saturday’s $300,000 Empire Classic for New York-breds, could step back into open company in the Grade 1, $600,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29, trainer John Kimmel said.

Kimmel said the Clark intrigues him because, at 1 1/8 miles around two turns, “it’s one of the only [races] out there at the right distance, right configuration, right time.”

Mr. Buff excels in two-turn races at 1 1/8 miles. He won four straight such events last fall and winter before a head-scratching last-place finish in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds in March. He also finished seventh, beaten 6 1/2 lengths in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga.

Mr. Buff, a gelding by Friend Or Foe owned by Chester and Mary Broman, earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure for his Empire Classic victory.