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Backsideofthemoon Could Thwart Mr. Buff’s Three-Peat In Saturday’s Jazil Stakes

Fresh off his first career triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure, Repole Stable's Backsideofthemoon will look to build on an impressive stakes score last month when he makes his 9-year-old debut in Saturday's $100,000 Jazil going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Backsideofthemoon reached a milestone in his 46th career start last out, earning a 106 number for his six-length gate-to-wire score in the Queens County on December 19 at the Big A. The gelded son of Malibu Moon is 2-for-2 since Rudy Rodriguez again took over his training duties. Rodriguez had conditioned Backsideofthemoon in 2019 before he was claimed and sent to Robert Klesaris.

After being claimed again for $62,500 out of a second-place effort on September 24 at Belmont, Backsideofthemoon edged Musical Heart by a neck in a race moved off the turf on November 13 before registering a career-best effort in his next race.

“He's continued to train very good and we're looking forward to running,” Rodriguez said. “He's very consistent and he loves Aqueduct. The last race, he was training so good leading into it and he broke so sharp. I'm just looking forward to seeing him run here again.”

Backsideofthemoon has posted six of his eight career wins at Aqueduct, including his maiden-breaking victory at third asking back in 2015 as well as a triumph in the 2018 Jazil. Jose Lezcano, aboard for the Queens County, will have the return call from the outermost post 5.

Chester and Mary Broman's popular New York homebred Mr. Buff has won the last two Jazil editions and will look for a three-peat in the seventh running. Trained by John Kimmel, the 7-year-old Friend Or Foe chestnut utilized a frontrunning style to win the Jazil by 5 1/4-lengths in 2019 over Sunny Ridge and by five lengths last year over returning-rival Backsideofthemoon.

Mr. Buff posted a record of three wins and two seconds from eight starts last season, which included a 20-length romp in the Haynesfield at the Big A in February and the Empire Classic at Belmont Park by 3 1/4-lengths.

The sizable gelding concluded his 2020 campaign by racing in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap and restricted Alex M. Robb just one week apart. After fading to fifth in the Cigar Mile on December 5, Mr. Buff was in tight out of the gate in the Alex M. Robb on December 12, where he tracked the early pace, but was no match for the surging Bankit, who scored by 4 3/4-lengths.

Kimmel said Mr. Buff will appreciate the time off between starts.

“The horse is doing great,” Kimmel said. “He won't be running back in a week this time. He's pretty happy right now and doing well. He's an older horse running without Lasix for the first time in a long time, so we'll see if it has really had any effect or not.”

Kendrick Carmouche, the Aqueduct winter meet-leading rider, will be in the irons from post 4.

Michael Dubb's Musical Heart will have a chance to turn the tables on Backsideofthemoon after running second to him twice in a row, starting in an optional claimer on November 13 and followed by the Queens County. The oft-claimed son of Maclean's Music will make his 6-year-old bow after finishing first or second in his last five starts, including a 4 ¾-length victory going the Jazil distance on August 8 at Saratoga Race Course.

The Queens County effort marked Musical Heart's first start for Rob Atras, who took over the training duties after being claimed for $62,500 out of that November tilt.

Manny Franco will pick up the mount, breaking from the inside post.
Tenderfoot, owned by trainer Charlton Baker and Francis Paolangeli, enters off a three-race winning streak. Tenderfoot will also be stepping up to stakes company for the first time in eight starts. He is 2-for-2 at the Big A, including a victory on December 3 going one mile, followed by a six-length victory at the same distance on New Year's Day in his 4-year-old debut.

Eric Cancel will have the return engagement, drawing post 3.

Fame to Famous, 10th last out in the Grade 3 Red Smith on November 21 at Aqueduct for owner and trainer John McAllen, will be seeking his second overall win and first victory since 2019, drawing post 2 with Mike Luzzi aboard.
The Jazil is carded as Race 3 on Aqueduct's nine-race program, which offers a first post of 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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Stakes Warriors Mr. Buff, Sunny Ridge Gearing Up For Kimmel At Big A

Trainer John Kimmel said Chester and Mary Broman's popular New York-homebred Mr. Buff could make his next start in the open nine-furlong Jazil on January 23.

Mr. Buff finished second to Bankit last out in the nine-furlong Alex M. Robb on December 12 at the Big A.

The 7-year-old Friend Or Foe gelding posted a record of 8-3-2-0 in 2020, including scores in the Jazil and Haynesfield at Aqueduct and the Empire Classic at Belmont. He entered the Alex M. Robb, a race he won by 7 ½-lengths in 2019, off of one week's rest from a fifth in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap.

Kimmel said he may have been ambitious in the quick turnaround to the Alex M. Robb with the Queens Country, won by Backsideofthemoon on December 19, also an option for the sizable chestnut.

“He was tired after that last race,” said Kimmel. “I walked him for a week and jogged him for a week since. I probably would have been better off waiting for the Queens County. But he's doing fine.”

Kimmel said Dennis Drazin's 8-year-old New Jersey-homebred Sunny Ridge, a $1.4 million earning son of Holy Bull, is close to a return.

The multiple graded stakes winner last raced in January 2020 when third in the Grade 3 Toboggan at the Big A. He returned to the work tab in November and has breezed five times on the Belmont dirt training track, including a half-mile in 50.04 on December 28.

“He's probably three weeks away from running,” said Kimmel. “He's doing OK. I'd like to find an allowance race for him in the next book.”

Sunny Ridge won the 2016 Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct and a year later took the Jazil and Stymie on the Ozone Park oval. He became a multiple graded-stakes winner in 2019 with a score in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park.

Tobey L. Morton's Mandatory, a 4-year-old American Pharoah chestnut purchased for $400,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-year-olds in Training Sale, stretches out to nine furlongs in Sunday's third race for maidens 4-years-old and up at Aqueduct when returning from more than a year layoff.

“I couldn't get a sprint race to go. It would have been preferable to run him in a shorter race off a year layoff,” said Kimmel.

Out of the multiple stakes winning Lost Soldier mare Chit Chatter, Mandatory is a half-brother to multiple Grade 1-winner I'm a Chatterbox. The chestnut colt, with blinkers on, breezed a sharp half-mile from the gate in 47.64 on December 27 on the dirt training track. Mandatory will be first-time blinkers in Sunday's return with Dylan Davis at the helm.

“He's performed very well in the mornings with blinkers on and has been very sharp,” said Kimmel. “He's a very well-bred horse and I've always liked him, it's just taken awhile to get him to the point where I've been happy with him.

“He's had a chronic hind end issue,” continued Kimmel. “I gave him time off and started him back but it showed up again, so I gave him all of Saratoga off and knock wood he's not had any issues since then. He's been breezing right along and breezing well.”

Mandatory made his first two starts at Belmont in 2019, finishing third in his September 28 debut at six furlongs and fifth last out on October 26 when stretched out to 1 1/16-miles.

“I don't think he has distance limitations,” said Kimmel. “His first race was pretty impressive considering he got left and then made a good late run going six furlongs. He ran flat the first time I stretched him out to a mile, so I'd say something was starting to bug him at that point as he didn't come out of that race all that great. He never did have surgery, he just had time off.”

Kimmel said he is hopeful of a good showing from Mandatory.

“We think he's a damn nice horse and he's super well bred. He's a half-brother to a really good filly,” said Kimmel.

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Mr. Buff ‘Seems To Be Holding His Form,’ Could Try Cigar Mile

Chester and Mary Broman's New York-bred Mr. Buff breezed a sharp half-mile in 48.47 on Nov. 8 on the Belmont main track and is under consideration for the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile Handicap for 3-year-olds and up slated for Dec. 5 at Aqueduct.

Trainer John Kimmel said the 6-year-old Friend Or Foe chestnut, who garnered a 94 Beyer for his frontrunning Empire Classic score last out on October 24 at Belmont, is training well.

“It was a good work. He came out of his last race well and seems to be holding his form,” said Kimmel.

Mr. Buff, who boasts a record of 40-15-7-4 with purse earnings in excess of $1.2 million, enjoyed a profitable winter at Aqueduct winning the Alex M. Robb against state-breds in December and the open Jazil in January before romping to a 20-length score over state-breds in the Haynesfield at one mile on the Big A main.

Following the Empire Classic score, Kimmel said he would consider pointing Mr. Buff to the nine-furlong Grade 1 Clark on November 27 at Churchill Downs but is now focused on either the Cigar Mile or defending his title in the nine-furlong $100,000 Alex M. Robb for New York-breds 3-years old and up on December 12.

“We won't go out of town to the Clark. We'll look at either the Cigar Mile or the Alex M. Robb,” said Kimmel. “His one-turn mile race at Aqueduct last year [the Haynesfield] before he went to the shelf was excellent when he won by 20 lengths. The Cigar Mile is a possibility depending on who shows up. If it looks too deep, we could wait until the next week and go in the easier spot, but the Cigar Mile is something we'll nominate for and take a look at.”

Top contenders for the Cigar Mile currently include Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby-winner King Guillermo and 2019 Grade 3 Discovery-winner Performer. The Cigar Mile Day card also includes a pair of Grade 2, $150,000 nine-furlong events for juveniles in the Remsen and its filly counterpart, the Demoiselle, as well as the Grade 3, $100,000 Go for Wand Handicap for fillies and mares at one mile.

Nedlaw Stable and Tobey L. Morton's promising juvenile filly Secret Love, a $270,000 purchase at the OBS July Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, flourished on debut with a 6 ¼-length romp in a six-furlong maiden sprint against fellow Empire State breds at Belmont Park.

The Not This Time chestnut, out of the A.P. Indy mare Exotic Design, garnered a 62 Beyer Speed Figure for her winning debut. She has breezed twice following her maiden voyage, including a November 1 effort in 50.45 on the Belmont dirt training track.

Kimmel said he had hoped to enter Secret Love in Sunday's Key Cents, but will have to wait for another option for the talented filly.

“Unfortunately, when she broke her maiden she grabbed her quarter and pulled her right front shoe off at the start of the race,” said Kimmel. “So, she ran that race with only three shoes and it took me about three weeks to get it so I could put a quarter patch on it. She missed too much training for me to put her in that race.”

Kimmel will be represented by a strong set of maidens this weekend at the Big A, including a trio on Saturday with Sonic Speed [Race 1], Please the Pharoah [Race 3], and The Reds [Race 5].

Flanagan Racing's Please the Pharoah, a $320,000 OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training purchase out of the stakes winning Doc's Leader mare Please Sign In, will debut in a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden under Hall of Famer John Velazquez.

The Reds, also owned by Flanagan Racing, finished fourth on debut in a 6 ½-furlong maiden sprint after being bumped at the start on September 27. The Kentucky-bred son of Tonalist will have the services of Jose Ortiz on Saturday.

“I'm very excited about the group,” said Kimmel. “I think Please the Pharoah is like most of the “Pharoahs,” it looks like he's a little better on the grass and he's been work company for The Reds a number of different times. I also think The Reds is sitting on a very good performance.”

Anthony and Stephen Mitola's Sonic Speed will look to graduate at third asking in a state-bred outer turf sprint following a close second last out at the same condition under returning rider Velazquez.

Kimmel said he is also excited about the debut of Flanagan Racing's Soupster, a gray daughter of Speightster out of the stakes-winning Alphabet Soup mare Souper Miss.

Purchased for $185,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, Soupster has breezed extensively at Belmont, including a half-mile effort in 48.84 on November 8 on the dirt training track.

“She's a Speightster filly that I think is very nice,” said Kimmel. “She's shown me that she has some talent. She's breezed well, looks good and I'm excited to watch her run.”

The Virginia-bred Soupster, with Irad Ortiz, Jr. up, will travel six furlongs on the Big A main track in Sunday's fourth race.

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What’s Next For Mr. Buff? Kimmel Eyes Robb For NY-Breds Or Another Try In Grade 1 Clark

Chester and Mary Broman's Mr. Buff earned a 94 Beyer for his impressive frontrunning Empire Classic score on Saturday's Empire Showcase Day card at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trainer John Kimmel said the 6-year-old Friend Or Foe chestnut looked to be in control throughout the nine-furlong test for state-bred 3-year-olds and upward.

“I watched the replay two or three times and he looked pretty confident and comfortable the whole race,” said Kimmel. “There weren't that many contentious moments. He handled that group pretty easily.

“Once he switched to the outside lead that was it. That was the key for me,” added Kimmel. “Sometimes he hangs onto the left lead and changes late but when he switches to the outside lead he's pretty impressive.”

Kimmel said a return engagement in the nine-furlong $100,000 Alex M. Robb for New York-breds 3-years old and up is likely, although the nine-furlong Grade 1 Clark on November 27 at Churchill Downs is also under consideration.

“He's doing fine this morning. He's back in his stall doing his regular thing. That race [the Alex M. Robb] is probably high on the priority list,” said Kimmel. “We're a little gun shy about venturing out of town but we'll keep him eligible for the Clark. The Clark is a good spot for him on Thanksgiving weekend.”

Mr. Buff has finished off the board in all five of his graded attempts, including a 10th in last year's Clark.

“When he runs his 'A' race he can run with anybody, but he just hasn't done it in the major graded races,” said Kimmel, who won the Clark in 2006 with Premium Tap.

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