Seven-year-old Mr. Buff makes for a curious case in Stymie Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – To hear trainer John Kimmel tell it, Mr. Buff is the Benjamin Button of Thoroughbreds.

A 7-year-old gelding by Friend Or Foe, Mr. Buff appears to be aging in reverse as he makes his 44th career start in Saturday’s $125,000 Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct.

“He’s acting really good. Jorge,” Kimmel said, referring to Jorge Munoz, his assistant trainer and Mr. Buff’s exercise rider rider, “said he’s just super happy. He’s been getting on the horse for so many years and he just loves to train.”

Mr. Buff also loves Aqueduct. He has recorded nine of his 16 wins over the Big A’s main track and was disqualified from another victory four years ago. He has recorded six of his 10 stakes victories at Aqueduct.

His most recent stakes success came in the Jazil here on Jan. 23. Sitting two lengths off the pacesetting Musical Heart, Mr. Buff took over leaving the three-eighths pole and drew off to a seven-length victory. Mr. Buff earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure, his seventh triple-digit Beyer. His four rivals in the Stymie have combined to achieve one such number.

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The Jazil also demonstrated what Kimmel has been preaching all along – that Mr. Buff is not a need-the-lead type. Kimmel said Mr. Buff just needs to get into a rhythm and if that puts him in front or just off the pace, so be it. He will try to instill that into Manny Franco, who will be riding Mr. Buff for just the second time.

“With a new rider, I think we have to be a little cognizant that he doesn’t overdo it in the early stages of the race,” Kimmel said.

Kimmel likes the fact Mr. Buff is drawn outside of Musical Heart, who loses Franco and picks up Dylan Davis for the Stymie.

Alwaysmining is an intriguing newcomer to this group. A six-time stakes winner on the Maryland circuit for trainer Kelly Rubley, Alwaysmining is now with Austin Trites, a former assistant to several New York trainers over the years before going out on his own. Trites put blinkers on Alwaysmining for his most recent start, an allowance race the gelding won from off the pace.

“I think the main objective since I got him back in training has been to get him to relax,” said Trites, who trains privately for Greg and Caroline Bentley’s Runnymoore Racing. “Most people put blinkers on to get more speed or to do more and show more. It worked the opposite with him. He was more relaxed and focused.”

Limonite won a second-level allowance by five lengths on Feb. 8, just nine days after being claimed for $40,000 by Amira Chichackly for owners Brian and Kerry Novak. He could be a forward factor cutting back to one turn.

Tintoretto, a German-bred, makes his 17th start and first on dirt.

With only five runners and Mr. Buff an overwhelming favorite, the Stymie is carded as race 3 on a nine-race card that begins at 1:05 p.m. Eastern.