John Kimmel | Horse Racing Free Tips

Friday Racing Insights: Justify Homebred Debuts At The Spa

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

1st-SAR, $88K, Msw, 2yo, f, (S), 5 1/2f, 1:05 p.m.
IM JUST KIDDIN (Justify), a homebred for prolific breeders Chester & Mary Broman, is a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint upsetter Bar of Gold (Medaglia d'Oro), who earned over $1.5 million in her career. She herself went on to produce GSW Coinage (Tapit) and $825,000 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Sale purchase Chulligan (Justify). Trained by John Kimmel, who also oversaw the career of her successful half-sister, Im Just Kiddin picks up jockey Jose Ortiz for her debut. TJCIS PPs

1st-MTH, $55K, Msw, 2yo, 5fT, 2:00 p.m.
Another homebred, Colts Neck Stables's NETWORKING (Speightstown), goes to the races for the first time on the Jersey Shore. The bay is a son of multiple turf graded winner Social Queen (Dynaformer), who has produced four winners from five to race including this colt's full-brother, GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. winner and $1.3 million earner Force The Pass, as well as 'TDN Rising Star' Affable Monarch (Arrogate). Networking is also from the female family of MGISP Wonder Gal (Tiz Wonderful). He fired a bullet over the grass July 2, working four furlongs in :52 3/5 (1/5) for trainer Jorge Duarte, Jr. TJCIS PPs

The post Friday Racing Insights: Justify Homebred Debuts At The Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Last Hurrah For Pacific Gale In Saturday’s Inside Information

Emotions ran high after last year's $200,000 Inside Information (G2) at Gulfstream Park, when durable mare Pacific Gale ended a 17-race losing streak with her first graded triumph for the widow of one of trainer John Kimmel's longest clients, who passed away just a month before.

It could be a similarly emotional afternoon Saturday when the 7-year-old Pacific Gale returns to Gulfstream with a chance to defend her title in what will be the final start of a long and successful career.

The 43rd running of the seven-furlong Inside Information for fillies and mares 4 and older is among seven graded-stakes worth $5.2 million in purses on a blockbuster 12-race Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series program featuring the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) presented by 1/ST BET on dirt, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) presented by Baccarat and inaugural $500,000 TAA Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3) presented by PEPSI.

First race post time is 11:30 a.m. EST. NBC will provide live national coverage from 4:30 to 6 p.m. EST.

Kimmel said Holly Hill Stables' Pacific Gale will be bred to champion Uncle Mo following the Inside Information, a race she won by 2 ¾ lengths at odds of 16-1 last winter after finishing sixth in 2019. Pacific Gale was booked to Not This Time for 2021, but was doing so well that Kimmel convinced the late Mike Morton's widow, Tobey, to give her another try.

“The owner had passed away and she hadn't won a race in two years at that point. I was very close with Mr, Morton and he had died in December. His wife was basically looking to disperse all the holdings and I've basically done it,” Kimmel said. “I told her it would take me about a year. He had like 30 horses and that's how long it took me to get it done.”

Pacific Gale was sold after the Inside Information to Holly Hill, and she paid immediate dividends by winning Gulfstream's Hurricane Bertie (G3) in her subsequent start – the first time she had ever won back-to-back races.

“We sold her to these new clients and she won for them first time out in the Hurricane Bertie. She's been running for them all year and she's got a date with Uncle Mo this winter,” Kimmel said. “This will be her last start. I've had her since she was 2.”

Pacific Gale has gone winless in five tries since the Hurricane Bertie, beaten 2 ¼ lengths when third to Victim of Love after a belated start in the Vagrancy (G3) last May at Belmont Park, and four lengths when second to Chub Wagon in the Roamin Rachel last fall at Parx. Most recently, she finished fifth in the Oct. 21 Floral Park at Belmont.

“I think she's doing well. We gave her a little freshening at the end of the fall and she went to the farm. I think she was there for six weeks or eight weeks. They started breezing her and got a couple breezes into her and sent her in to me and I've given her four breezes now,” Kimmel said. “I think she's ready to go. For an older mare, she likes that racetrack. She's run very well at Gulfstream. We'll be looking forward to the engagement.”

Overall, Pacific Gale has five wins, seven seconds and six thirds with $651,160 in purse earnings and six other graded-stakes placings. Junior Alvarado is named to ride from Post 6 in a field of 10.

“She's just a class act. She's really a kind hose to be around. Some owners bring their little kids around and she'll come up and nuzzle them. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body,” Kimmel said. “Any horse that's stayed healthy for that many campaigns, you hope she can pass that on to her offspring. She's just a nice physical specimen. She's stayed sound, raced multiple campaigns, she's a multiple stakes winner, a Grade 2 winner, a Grade 3 winner and multiple graded-stakes placed. She always showed up and gave it a good effort.”

Whitham Thoroughbreds' homebred Four Graces is also a dual graded-stakes winner, having captured the seven-furlong Dogwood (G3) and Beaumont (G3) in successive starts in the summer of 2020. She ran twice more than year, finishing second in the Eight Belles (G2), before going to the sidelines.

Four Graces raced just once last year, finishing fourth in the mid-June Roxelana behind Bell's the One, who would go on to win three more stakes including the Honorable Miss (G2) and TAA (G2). Four Graces made her 5-year-old debut in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance Jan. 6 at Gulfstream, running second by a nose as the favorite to Starship Nala, who also returns in the Inside Information.

“We were very happy with her race, except for not getting the bob of the head. I actually thought I did, but that's racing,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “That was just her second race in 15 months. It was good that that race went. We were able to use it to just knock the cobwebs off and as a way to get ready for this next race.

“She's always shown ability and been very talented, just unfortunate to have been on the sidelines a few times,” he added. “We're still getting there. We've had that one race now. Do I think that she's at 110 percent yet? No, but she's better. She's doing good. The only way I'm going to get her there is to get some races into her.”

Julien Leparoux has the assignment from Post 5.

[Story Continues Below]

Prior to going after a second straight victory in the Pegasus World Cup with Knicks Go in what will be the presumptive 2021 Horse of the Year's final start before starting a stud career, trainer Brad Cox will send out multiple stakes-winning homebred Just One Time in the Inside Information.

The 4-year-old daughter of Not This Time was purchased privately following her victory in the Oct. 22 New Start on the dirt at Penn National, her second stakes victory over fellow Pennsylvania-breds. The other came over the all-weather surface at Presque Isle Downs.

“She's doing really well. I like her a lot. This is going to be our first opportunity to run her. I think she's going to be a good filly. She pretty much hasn't run farther than three-quarters, so the seven-eighths is always a question mark until you try it. She showed me enough in the mornings to put her on a van and lead her over there,” Cox said. “She's a pretty good work horse. She showed me training what I like to see in regard to making the jump and attacking graded-stakes company.”

Joel Rosario, the favorite to win his first Eclipse Award as champion jockey, will be the irons from Post 8.

A five-time winner of the Inside Information, most recently with Ivy Bell in 2018, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher chases No. 6 with St. Elias Stable's A G Indy. Like Just One Time, the 5-year-old Take Charge Indy mare is a recent private purchase that will be making just her second start on dirt after 12 consecutive tries on the turf, where she had a record of 4-4-2.

Last out, A G Indy won the Senator Ken Maddy sprinting five furlongs Nov. 5 at Del Mar. She has been on the work tab since late December in South Florida, including a sharp half-mile breeze with 5-year-old gelding Fearless, whose graded-stakes wins include the Dec. 18 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream.

“She's been training superbly on the dirt, so we're excited about that. She put in another good work with Fearless the other day and looked good doing it, so we're going to give her a try on the dirt,” Pletcher said. “She was kind of purchased with the idea of seeing if she might transition to the dirt, and every breeze that we've had with her so far has been really, really strong on the dirt.

“I just feel like it's a good opportunity,” he added. “We can always go back to the grass, but she's certainly been training like a horse that appreciates the dirt. To work head and head in company on the dirt with a horse like Fearless, who's coming off the Harlan's Holiday, kind of emphasized to us that she'll seem to handle it well.”

Luis Saez rides A G Indy from Post 2.

Three Diamonds Farm's Jakarta is a 7-year-old mare with three previous stakes wins, including the Dec. 28 Mrs. Claus at Parx in her first start for trainer Mike Trombetta. Third in the 2020 Buffalo Trace Franklin County (G3) at Keeneland, Jakarta is 3-for-5 lifetime at Gulfstream including wins in the 2020 Powder Break and Claiming Crown Distaff Dash.

“She worked the other day and she worked good,” Trombetta said. “I didn't have her real long. I only had her two weeks and the first time she ran, she just ran lights out. What I've learned is it looks like she enjoys the dirt as much as anything. I'm looking forward to running her.”

Three-time defending Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr. has the call from Post 7.

Crumb Bun, on a two-race win streak; Dance d'Oro, exiting a victory in the one-mile Rampart Dec. 18 at Gulfstream; Starship Nala, seeking her first stakes win after seven runner-up finishes; Family Time, making her stakes debut off a Jan. 7 allowance win at Gulfstream; and Mon Petit Chou, third in Gulfstream's 2021 Game Face, complete the field.

The post Last Hurrah For Pacific Gale In Saturday’s Inside Information appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Millionaire Mr. Buff Settling Into Retirement As Connections Consider Second Career

Saturday marks the eighth running of the $100,000 Jazil at Aqueduct Racetrack and one familiar face will be noticeably absent from the nine-furlong test this year. Mr. Buff, winner of the last three consecutive runnings of the Jazil, retired from racing in November of 2021 and has settled in well at owners Chester and Mary Broman's Chestertown Farm in upstate New York.

A New York homebred, the millionaire chestnut son of Friend Or Foe was foaled in 2014 and was eventually gelded and named Mr. Buff, a fitting name for a horse standing 17.2 hands tall.

Trainer John Kimmel recalled the gelding towering over his stablemates even as a 2-year-old.

“He looked like two men in a horse suit. He was this huge 2-year-old and was just big and awkward,” said Kimmel. “You never know where a good horse will come from. Sometimes, you get one you think will be ordinary and they wind up being really good. And sometimes you have one you think will be really good and they turn out ordinary. He was one that really matured into a special horse. We miss him; he was such a big presence.”

Out of the Speightstown mare Speightful Affair, Mr. Buff's size did not inhibit his racing talents, breaking his maiden in his juvenile season at second asking when stretching out to seven furlongs from six furlongs on debut.

With two allowance wins as a sophomore, Mr. Buff made 14 starts as a 4-year-old, capped off by a year-end win in the Alex M. Robb at Aqueduct to score the first stakes win of his career. Mr. Buff's Alex M. Robb would prove to be the start of a long list of stakes accomplishments, the first of 11 career stakes wins with five other placings, including a third in the Grade 3 Westchester at Belmont Park last year.

Of his three Jazil victories, Mr. Buff's most impressive effort came in last year's edition when he took down the Jazil for the third consecutive time. Ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, who also earned his third Jazil win that year, Mr. Buff contested the pace set by Musical Heart and was held 1 1/2 lengths back in second down the backstretch.

Given the cue from Carmouche rounding the turn, Mr. Buff took command and bounded away to a dominating seven-length victory, wrapped up at the wire in the penultimate victory of his career.

Mr. Buff won two other stakes on multiple occasions, taking back-to-back editions of the Alex M. Robb [2018, 2019] and the Empire Classic [2019, 2020], both at Aqueduct.

The second of Mr. Buff's Empire Classic wins came on the heels of a short layoff in 2020, regrouping for two months after off-the-board finishes in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont and the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga.

Kimmel shared that his fondest memory of Mr. Buff's 48-start career was his repeat win in the Empire Classic.

“He came in off two bad races and people were writing him off like he was done,” said Kimmel. “He hadn't run since August and I had him ready to run at the end of October from nothing but training and to have him run that kind of race was good. That was a happy day.”

Mr. Buff's final win came in last year's Stymie, grinding out a half-length victory over Limonite in the one-mile event at Aqueduct. After a third in the Grade 3 Westchester next time out, he ran off the board in his last three starts, prompting his connections to retire the then-7-year-old gelding after six seasons of racing in November of 2021.

Mr. Buff retired to Chestertown Farm with a record of 48-17-8-5, earnings of $1,403,536, and two New York championship titles [Older Dirt Male in 2019 and 2020], cementing him as an all-time fan favorite in the New York racing scene.

Loretta Lusteg, assistant to Kimmel, emphasized that it takes a dedicated team to campaign a horse like Mr. Buff to so many successful seasons on the racetrack.

“I give so much credit to Arturo [Sanchez, Mr. Buff's groom], and his exercise rider and our barn foreman Jorge Munoz,” Lusteg said. “They were very hands on and there with him through the winters. It was a team effort.”

Sanchez, Mr. Buff's groom for his entire career, recalled his affection for Mr. Buff and said things around the barn are a bit different now that the large chestnut has left for retirement.

“I worked for six years with him,” Sanchez said. “That's a long time to work with a nice horse. For me, he's the best horse I've worked with. I miss having him around. I've seen lots of pictures of him and he's doing well.”

Gregg Falk, manager of Chestertown Farm, has been keeping Mr. Buff's connections up to date on his retirement ventures and shared that he has been in fine order since arriving in the beginning of November.

“He's relaxing and hanging out here on the farm. He let down very well and he's a smart horse,” Falk said. “He figured out things pretty quickly. He's turned out by himself right now because we didn't want him to get attached to other horses and make friends if he's going to be leaving to do something else. I'm not sure what that would be yet but I'll leave that up to Mr. Kimmel and Mr. Broman.”

Kimmel indicated that the gelding's professionalism and experience on the racetrack may make him a good candidate to return to his barn as a pony.

“I don't think he likes the cold up in Chestertown,” Kimmel said. “I think he wants a second career; he needs to do something. I'm thinking maybe he could be a pony for me. He could teach the 2-year-olds a lot and do well with them. I do worry he may try to take off with the racers, but he could be a good pony. He's a natural leader. There's also someone interested in making him a jumper.”

Lusteg shared Kimmel's sentiments, noting Mr. Buff's leadership around other trainees.

“He was very strong but kind. You could put him in company with another horse and he would babysit the younger ones. He was good in that way,” Lusteg said.

No matter what Mr. Buff ultimately finds himself doing in a second career, it is almost certain that the large fanbase he garnered in his racing career will continue to follow him wherever he goes. Lusteg recalled what it was like to have a local celebrity in the barn for so many years.

“It was so special to see the fans,” said Lusteg. “He was a horse that you could walk up to in the stall and pet him. You didn't have to worry about him biting anyone and he loved the attention. People loved to come and get a picture with him.

“He had no idea how strong he was and was kind in the stall,” Lusteg added. “He loved his peppermints and was a good dude. He's a part of our family and is missed around the barn.”

Now enjoying retirement at the place of his birth, Mr. Buff is sure to be enjoyed for years to come as his fans and connections continue the journey with him into his next career.

The post Millionaire Mr. Buff Settling Into Retirement As Connections Consider Second Career appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

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.”

The post Reigning New York-Bred Champion Mr. Buff Retired With 17 Wins appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post