Mr. Buff a heavy favorite as he cuts back to mile in Haynesfield

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If you draw a line through his starts in graded stakes, Mr. Buff has won nine of his last 10 starts going back 15 months. That run of success includes five New York-bred stakes wins in six attempts and two listed stakes triumphs in open company.

Saturday, Mr. Buff will be a heavy favorite to continue his mastery of the statebred dirt division when he heads a field of six entered in the $100,000 Haynesfield Stakes going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct.

While most of Mr. Buff’s success has come in races run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns, he has certainly run equally as well around one turn. Last October, Mr. Buff won the Empire Classic, a 1 1/8-mile race going one turn at Belmont. He also proved victorious in the Saginaw, a one-turn, 1 1/16-mile race, also at Belmont.

It is true that his only loss against New York-breds over the last 15 months came in the $200,000 Commentator, which happened to be his last start at a one-turn mile. He actually ran a terrific race that day, setting fast fractions before getting run down by Pat On the Back and Giant Expectations, losing by three-quarters of a length.

John Kimmel, who trains Mr. Buff for Chester and Mary Broman, had thought about running the 6-year-old New York-bred gelding in next Saturday’s $100,000 Bernardini Stakes at 1 5/16 miles. He changed his mind, in part, because regular rider Junior Alvarado would be out of town that day. Alvarado rides Mr. Buff on Saturday.

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“Maybe it makes more sense anyway,” Kimmel said. “The horse is doing fantastic, he’s like this warrior horse who enjoys the cold weather. He’s been extremely happy, and all the reports are very positive.”

A top three finish would put Mr. Buff over the $1 million mark in career earnings.

Mr. Buff will likely leave running from the rail. It remains to be seen who, if anyone, will challenge Mr. Buff early on the pace.

Syndergaard has plenty of early speed should his connections choose to use it. The runner-up in the Grade 1 Champagne in 2016, Syndergaard, now 6, has not raced since finishing behind Mr. Buff when those two were third and fourth in the Commentator last May.

That was the seventh race in eight months for Syndergaard, who trainer John Terranova felt was in need of a break. Syndergaard has worked eight times since Jan. 2 for his return.

“He really hasn’t missed a beat, everything has been right on schedule coming into this,” Terranova said. “We opted for this one as opposed to the Hollie Hughes [at six furlongs]. I think the mile gives him a better chance to get his feet underneath him.”

Jose Lezcano, the meet’s leading rider, is aboard Syndergaard from post 2. Syndergaard is in at 118 pounds, six fewer than Mr. Buff.

Honor Up narrowly defeated Syndergaard in both the Say Florida Sandy and last year’s Haynesfield. He will attempt to rebound from a sixth-place finish in an allowance race Dec. 30, his first start in seven months.

Twisted Tom, a three-time New York-bred stakes winner in 2017; I Love Jaxson, an allowance winner here Sunday; and Fleet Irish complete the field.