Mr. Buff goes after long-sought win in Commentator Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. – Though Mr. Buff has been the dominant older New York-bred male dirt horse for the last three years, there is still one statebred stakes he has yet to win. Monday, Mr. Buff will make his fourth attempt at winning his first Commentator Stakes at Belmont Park.
The $200,000 Commentator, run at one mile, is the co-feature along with the $200,000 Critical Eye for fillies and mares on the first of three cards run this year at New York Racing Association tracks devoted entirely to New York-breds. Monday’s Memorial Day card features six stakes, 10 races overall, and total purses of $1,175,000.
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Mr. Buff, a 7-year-old gelding by Friend Or Foe, has won 11 stakes, seven of which were restricted to New York-breds. In the Commentator, he finished eighth in 2018, third in 2019 and second last year. In the 2020 Commentator, Mr. Buff was coming off a four-month layoff, chased a strong early pace, and was beaten 1 1/4 lengths by Funny Guy, to whom he was conceding seven pounds.
This year, Mr. Buff enters the Commentator off victories in the Jazil and Stymie stakes and, most recently, a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Westchester on May 1. Mr. Buff is winless in seven graded stakes tries.
“His last race wasn’t that bad, I don’t think,” said trainer John Kimmel, noting that jockey Edgard Zayas “never got him off his inside lead and that’s really important for him.”
Mr. Buff will be reunited with Junior Alvarado in the Commentator.
The last time Mr. Buff raced against New York-breds, he was beaten 4 3/4 lengths by Bankit in the $100,000 Alex M. Robb Handicap on Dec. 12 at Aqueduct. Mr. Buff was coming back one week after running fifth in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile.
Bankit will be among Mr. Buff’s six rivals in the Commentator. After winning the Robb, Bankit won the John B. Campbell against open company at Laurel before getting beat a neck by My Boy Tate in the Haynesfield Stakes at Aqueduct. Bankit, trained by Steve Asmussen, is returning to statebred company after finishing a well-beaten second at 2-5 in an open allowance at Oaklawn Park on April 24.
Winners Laugh is 2 for 3, with his lone defeat coming in the Affirmed Success Stakes, where he tossed his head and blew the break. He has the speed to be a factor and figures to be the early target of Mr. Buff.
Yankee Division, third behind Bankit and Mr. Buff in the Alex Robb, and Sea Foam, third behind Mr. Buff and Bankit in last October’s Empire Classic, are in with a chance. Captain Bombastic is 3 for 5 at Belmont Park, including New York-bred stakes wins at 2 and 3. Danny California completes the field.
The Commentator goes as race 4 (2:33 p.m.) on the 10-race card, which begins at 1 p.m.
Mrs. Orb back in Critical Eye
After Mrs. Orb won the La Verdad Stakes on Jan. 3, she was put through the sales ring at Keeneland’s horses of all ages sale. When she didn’t meet her reserve, her connections opted to send her to Florida for a vacation with the intent of racing her throughout the second half of this year.
Monday, Mrs. Orb makes her return in the $200,000 Critical Eye, a race in which she was beaten a neck at 17-1 last year.
Mrs. Orb doesn’t figure to be near that price on Monday in a nine-horse field to set to run a mile.
Mike Miceli, trainer and part-owner of Mrs. Orb, said he doesn’t see any significant changes in Mrs. Orb that leads him to believe she won’t run her race.
“She’s training just as well,” Miceli said. “I know she’s getting older, but she hasn’t shown me anything different or anything negative.”
Miceli also sends out Love and Love, who was beaten two lengths by Monday rival Espresso Shot in the Biogio’s Rose Stakes at Aqueduct on March 7. More recently, she finished second in an allowance race to the repeating winner Altaf.
“Her last two races have been very good,” Miceli said. “She took a step forward in her last two. Maybe the [wet] weather would be the only question mark with her.”
Espresso Shot has turned her career around after losing 10 consecutive races from the spring of 2019 through October 2020. She has won two of her last three, including a two-length victory over Love and Love in the Biogio’s Rose at Aqueduct on March 7.
“The question is if she’s going to run here like she does at Aqueduct,” trainer Jorge Abreu said. “She loves Aqueduct. But she likes the one turn as well. She’s training really, really well and she likes to run fresh.”
After missing 14 months following a fourth-place finish in her career debut in December 2019, Bank Sting has reeled off three consecutive victories to begin her 4-year-old campaign for trainer John Terranova. She is drawn nicely in post 8.
The Critical Eye goes as race 9 (5:12 p.m.).