chester and mary broman | Horse Racing Free Tips

Classy Edition Goes Wide To Get The Win In Key Cents Stakes

Already a stakes winner in her last start, Classy Edition added a second one to her resume with a victory in the Key Cents Stakes for New York breds at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. The daughter of Classic Empire had to go wide on the far turn to find running room, but had plenty of turn of foot in the stretch to overcome that wide trip and get the win.

After an even break, Silver Fist needed a few strides to get her head in front, striding out to a one-length lead with Makin My Move in second and Classy Edition last after being bumped coming out of the gate. Logging fractions of :22.48 for the first quarter and :46.31 for the half-mile, Silver Fist maintained her advantage into the turn, with Making My Move and Miss Alacrity pressing. After improving to sixth in the backstretch, Irad Ortiz Jr. angled Classy Edition five-wide to find racing room entering the Aqueduct straight.

In the stretch, Silver Fist and Makin My Move were unable to hold off the closers, the field bunching up behind Makin My Move as she weakened. Classy Edition rallied with Shesawildjoker to their outside down the center of the track, the Todd Pletcher trainee's closing kick enough to clear and win by 3 1/2 lengths. Captainsdaughter was able to pass Shesawildjoker late to take second, with Silver Fist hanging on for fourth.

The final time for the six-furlong Key Cents was 1:12.19. Find this race's chart here.

Classy Edition paid $3.90, $3.50, and $2.50. Captainsdaughter paid $21.00 and $8.70. Shesawildjoker paid $9.20.

“It went pretty smoothly. It looked like a race on paper that had plenty of pace. The main thing is we just wanted to keep her clean and out of trouble and Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] was able to do that. We had to sacrifice a little bit of ground, but she was able to get into a good, comfortable rhythm,” trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race.

“We had initially targeted the Maid of the Mist, but she got a temperature just before that, so it set us behind schedule a little bit. This seemed like a logical place to bring her back.”

“She broke a step slow but she put me in the race quick and after that I just waited in the turn. She's the type of filly that needs a little time to get going. She probably wants to go a little farther, but she kept coming and she got there on time. At the quarter-pole, she went by and she just kept going. She's a nice filly,” jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. told the NYRA Press Office after the Key Cents.

Bred in New York by Chester and Mary Broman, Classy Edition is out of the Bernardini mare Newbie. Consigned by Sequel Bloodstock, the 2-year-old filly was purchased by owners Robert and Lawana Low at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale for $550,000. With her win in the Key Cents, Classy Edition is a perfect 3-for-3 with career earnings of $184,250.

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Reigning New York-Bred Champion Mr. Buff Retired With 17 Wins

Even a career this good must end at some point. After 48 starts, 17 wins and $1,403,536 in earnings, New York-bred star Mr. Buff will race no more.

The 7-year-old retires with two New York-bred championships – Older Dirt Male of 2019 and 2020 – in six seasons on the track. He won 11 stakes and made every start but two in New York. For now, the chestnut gelding heads to his birthplace, owners/breeders Chester and Mary Bromans' Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, N.Y.

“It's sad, but happy too,” said trainer John Kimmel. “It's hard to find a horse that could win 17 races and retire sound. He's the winningest horse I've ever had. We'll miss him, but he goes to the farm as a sound horse.”

Mr. Buff foaled at Chestertown (about 50 miles north of Saratoga Springs) in February 2014. The son of Friend Or Foe (who won five races and earned $349,134 for the Bromans and Kimmel) and the Speightstown mare Speightful Affair finished fifth in his debut at Saratoga in 2016 and won his next start at Belmont Park in September.

Mr. Buff won twice more in 2017, but endured eight losses to start 2018 before closing with wins in four of his final six starts – topped by the Alex M. Robb Stakes for New York-breds at Aqueduct. The success carried over, as he opened 2019 with a victory in the open-company Jazil Stakes at Aqueduct. Later that season, he added the Saginaw, Evan Shipman, Empire Classic and another edition of the Robb while piling up a career-high $455,750.

Awarded his first New York-bred divisional crown after that season, Mr. Buff duplicated the feat in 2020 thanks to wins in the Jazil, Haynesfield and Empire Classic and $307,500 in earnings.

Kimmel loved the success, and the ride the burly chestnut took everyone on.

“He gets better and better all the time. He's just been an iron horse,” the said in early 2021. “Once we figured out a few things about him, he kept losing his shoes, we've been gluing his shoes on for two-and-a-half years now. He's got white feet, they're kind of brittle, once he had shoes that didn't fall off, he's run a little better and a little better. He can use that big stride to his advantage.”

Mr. Buff opened 2021 with a third consecutive win in the Jazil and another stakes score in the Stymie. That Aqueduct victory would be his last as he followed with a third in the Westchester, fifths in the Commentator and Evan Shipman and a well-beaten eighth in the Empire Classic Oct. 30. Kimmel but pinned some of the dull performances on the inability to use Lasix in New York stakes races starting in 2021.

“He was always a bleeder, and benefitted from the use of Lasix,” Kimmel said. “He's not gushing, but he's bleeding like a two out of five and he's so smart, and he's such a veteran that I think he can tell he's going to bleed if he tries any harder. In the morning, he works well. He's right there with other horses breezing, but he's treated with Lasix. Without it, running in the afternoon in tougher races, he's taking care of himself. He's been too good to us to push the envelope anymore.”

Though he hesitated to single out one race as the most memorable, Kimmel called the 2020 Empire Classic a favorite. Facing six foes, coming off three losses and making his first start in almost three months, Mr. Buff controlled the race from the inside post position and made the lead last 1 1/8 miles while winning by 3 1/4 lengths for Junior Alvarado.

“He had run a couple clunkers against the better horses and hadn't run in a while,” Kimmel said. “I was real tickled because they were kind of writing him off and for him to come back and show at the age of 6 that he could come back and do that against a pretty good group of New York-breds was something.”

Kimmel tried graded company seven times with his stable star, but Mr. Buff never broke through – finishing ninth in the 2019 New Orleans Handicap-G2, seventh in the 2019 Woodward-G1, 10th in the 2019 Clark-G1, fifth in the 2020 Suburban-G2, Whitney-G1 and Cigar Mile-G1 and third in the 2021 Westchester-G3.

The Bromans bought Mr. Buff's dam for $80,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky mixed sale in February 2013. Her 12-start racing career yielded two wins and a second in a Grade 3 stakes. As a broodmare, she has produced two winners for the Bromans in addition to Mr. Buff – a full-brother Cain Is Abel and the Scat Daddy gelding Daddy Knows. Miss Buff, a 3-year-old full-sister, has yet to race. The top side of Mr. Buff's pedigree starts with Friend Or Foe, whose career included wins in the Mike Lee, Empire Classic and Easy Goer stakes plus a fourth in the Grade 1 Whitney in 2011 for Kimmel and the Bromans. His sire Friends Lake also raced for the Bromans and Kimmel, winning the Grade 1 Florida Derby and starting in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in 2004.

Retirement plans, other than no racing, weren't quite finalized. Mr. Buff headed to Chestertown with no plans, though his trainer wouldn't rule out a second career as a stable pony.

“I used to use him with the babies,” Kimmel said. “He's so big that he's good at it. He's over 17 hands and he'd go, 'Come on, Sonny, this is the way we do it.' And the 2-year-olds would follow him like, 'I better pay attention to this guy. He knows what he's doing.'

“I don't know if we make him into a pony on the track, but I'm sure he's sound enough that he could do something. Right now, he's going to get a break. He's going to be a happy horse.”

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Mr. Buff Works Ahead Of Try For Third Empire Classic

Chester and Mary Broman's New York-homebred Mr. Buff breezed Sunday morning in preparation for the $300,000 Empire Classic – the 1 1/8-mile feature event on Empire Showcase Day, slated for October 30 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by John Kimmel, the popular 7-year-old Friend Or Foe chestnut went six furlongs in 1:14.01 under jockey Junior Alvarado over the Belmont main track.

Mr. Buff, an earner of more than $1.4 million, has won the last two editions of the Empire Classic. A victory would make him the first horse to win three straight runnings of the race as he seeks his first trip to the winner's circle since capturing the Stymie on February 27 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

“We've had him on a weekly work schedule and today was probably the most major thing he'll do before the Empire Classic,” Kimmel said. “The track was a little wet and we were running into a pretty big headwind but we had it all set up. Junior came out and I gave them a horse to chase. I thought he worked really well. He galloped out in 1:27 and came back fine. It's kind of the same schedule we had him on last year off the layoff.”

Mr. Buff, who last raced when fifth in the Evan Shipman on August 11 at the Spa, arrived off his previous Empire Classic coups following unplaced efforts at Grade 1 level at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Kimmel added that recent allowance winner Call Me Harry could target the $200,000 Mohawk, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for state-breds 3-years-old and up on Empire Showcase Day.

Empire Showcase Day, which offers eight stakes for New York-breds, includes a trio of $250,000 events in the Empire Distaff, Sleepy Hollow, and Maid of the Mist. Also on tap will be the $200,000 Ticonderoga, along with a pair of $150,000 stakes in the Iroquois and Hudson.

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Classy Edition Heads Field For Joseph A. Gimma Friday At Belmont

Following an impressive maiden score, Robert and Lawana Low's Classy Edition will make her stakes debut against five other New York-bred juvenile fillies in Friday's $150,000 Joseph A. Gimma going seven furlongs over the main track at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Joseph A. Gimma honors the late investment banker, political official, and former chairman of the New York State Racing Commission from 1965-76. Born in Baro, Italy, Gimma also served as the governor of the American Stock Exchange from 1952-58.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Classy Edition backed up her heavy 3-5 favoritism in her September 5 debut when breaking her maiden by 6 ¾ lengths over a good and sealed track at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., garnering a 63 Beyer Speed Figure.

The bay daughter of freshman stallion and 2016 Champion Juvenile Colt Classic Empire rated in fourth along the rail down the backstretch and made an aggressive four-wide move nearing the quarter-pole, cruising away to a hand-ride victory under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“It's back a little quick, but she did it very easily. Irad wrapped up on her in the last part of the race,” Pletcher said. “She had always trained well. I expected her to run well on debut, and she did.”

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, Classy Edition is out of the Bernardini mare Newbie, making her a half-sister to multiple stakes-winner Newly Minted.

Ortiz, Jr. will return aboard Classy Edition from post 4.

Mr. Amore Stable homebred November Rein will attempt a second stakes score following a triumph in the Seeking the Ante on August 27 at Saratoga.

Despite stumbling at the start, the Kelly Breen-trained daughter of Street Boss recovered quickly and commanded the field through every point of call, winning by 1 ¾ lengths.

November Rein arrived at the Seeking the Ante off an even more decisive victory, breaking her maiden going 5 ½ furlongs at the Spa by 5 ½ lengths to garner a field-best 76 Beyer.

Jose Ortiz is unbeaten in two starts aboard November Rein and will have the call from post 6.

D.J. Stable's Adversity, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, graduated by 2 1/4-lengths at second asking on September 6 over a sloppy and sealed main track at the Spa.

“Her first start we ran her on the grass, and she didn't run very well, but she had always worked really well on the dirt,” said Casse assistant Shane Tripp. “It rained really hard right when the horses were in the paddock, so it was in the slop. She ran great that day and we're looking forward to running her again.”

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, the daughter of the late first crop sire and 2016 Travers winner Arrogate is out of the Grade 1-winning Roman Ruler mare Artemis Agrotera.

Jockey Luis Saez will ride from post 3.

Stonestreet Stables' Velvet Sister, a half-million-dollar purchase from the Fasig-Tipton March Sale, will attempt to turn the tables on November Rein following a runner-up effort in the Seeking the Ante.

The daughter of Bernardini, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, was a 9 ¾-length winner against open company in June at Belmont before a distant fourth in the Grade 3 Schuylerville five weeks later at Saratoga.

Bred by Godolphin and Michelle Nevin, Velvet Sister is a half-sister to multiple stakes-winner My Boy Tate.

Breaking from post 2, Velvet Sister will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

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Joseph Bucci's Shesawildjoker bested November Rein on debut and returns to New York-bred company for trainer David Donk.

The daughter of freshman stallion Practical Joke took a considerable jump up in class following her first-out maiden score when eighth in the Grade 3 Schuylerville. She was bred by Three Diamonds Farm.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride from post 5.

Rounding out the field is Our Tiny Dancer – a wire-to-wire winner for a $25,000 tag at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., for trainer Amira Chichakly. Larry Botting bred the chestnut daughter of Union Jackson.

Jockey Erick Lopez will ride from post 1.

The Joseph A. Gimma is slated as Race 8 on Friday's nine-race card which also includes the $125,000 Ashley T. Cole in Race 3. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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