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Stymie Gives New York-Bred Mr. Buff 11th Career Stakes Score

New York-bred legend Mr. Buff tallied another stakes win, commanding a swift pace on the front end and holding on for victory against Limonite's late confrontation in Saturday's 65th running of the $125,000 Stymie at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

A Chester and Mary Broman homebred, Mr. Buff arrived at the open company one-turn mile for older horses off his third straight win in the Jazil going nine furlongs at the Big A. The John Kimmel trained son of Friend Or Foe owns triumphs in multiple New York-bred stakes events for older dirt horses on the NYRA circuit including the Alex M. Robb, the Empire Classic, the Evan Shipman, the Saginaw and the Haynesfield, which he won last February by an astounding 20 lengths.

Mr. Buff was asked from the gate by jockey Manny Franco and established a one-length lead ahead of Alwaysmining and Musical Heart to mark the opening quarter-mile in 22.96 seconds over a sloppy and sealed main track.

Alwaysmining dropped out of contention approaching the turn with the half-mile in 45.51, leaving Mr. Buff and Musical Heart alone on the front end. Franco remained relaxed aboard Mr. Buff as Dylan Davis asked Musical Heart for more run through the turn.

Franco gave Mr. Buff his cue at the quarter pole with a stubborn Musical Heart 2 ½ lengths back in second. The pair continued to race one-two a sixteenth out from the wire, as Limonite launched a furious late bid on the far outside from the four-path. Class prevailed in the end as Mr. Buff held on for a half-length victory in a final time of 1:36.97. It was another half-length back to Musical Heart in third.

Tintoretto and Alwaysmining completed the order of finish.

Mr. Buff registered his 11th career stakes win and added $68,750 to his already lucrative bankroll, which now stands at $1,364,536 through a 44-17-8-4 career. A stakes winner at all three NYRA circuit tracks, Mr. Buff has displayed quite the affinity for Aqueduct with a consistent 17-10-4-0 record.

Franco said he wanted to establish a good early tempo.

“I wanted to make sure I broke out of there running,” Franco said. “The two horse [Musical Heart] kept pushing my horse and I know my horse can rate but I just wanted to let him do his thing. When I got to the front, I was happy, and I know that's the way he likes to run.

“He's got a big stride and he just outrun the other horses,” Franco added. “The last sixteenth I felt he was tiring, but I know he went pretty quick the first part, and that was my plan.”

Jockey Eric Cancel, aboard runner-up Limonite, said he was pleased with his horse's late-charging effort.

“They were putting in a pretty decent pace at the beginning. It was a little quick for my horse to keep him up close,” Cancel said. “But my horse, at the end, gave me all that he had, and we almost got there. He tried. He doesn't have any problems in the slop, hopefully he keeps on improving.”

The Amira Chichakly-trained runner-up also pleased his co-owner Brian Novak, who claimed the 5-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid two starts back for $40,000. Limonite entered the Stymie from a five-length optional-claiming win on February 8 at the Big A.

“For a $40,000 claimer, he seems like a completely different horse,” Novak said. “We almost won this one, if he wasn't so far out. The speed was just a little much for him. But I'd like to see his Beyer [Speed Figure] after this one.”

Bred in the Empire State by his owners, Mr. Buff is out of the graded stakes-placed Speightstown mare Speightful Affair. He paid $3.40 to win.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.

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Phantom Currency Earns First Stakes Victory, Wires Mac Diarmida Field

Susan and Jim Hill's Phantom Currency notched his first career stakes victory in front-running style, turning back favorite Tide of the Sea through the stretch for a one-length triumph in Saturday's $200,000 Mac Diarmida (G2) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 26^th running of the 1 3/8-mile Mac Diarmida for older turf horses was the second of nine stakes, eight graded, worth $1.475 million on a blockbuster 14-race program headlined by the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) for 3-year-olds on the road to the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa March 27 and $200,000 Davona Dale (G2) featuring the seasonal debut of 2-year-old filly champion Vequist.

Ridden by Paco Lopez for trainer Brian Lynch, Phantom Currency ($15.60) completed the distance in 2:13.84 over a firm course. Tide of the Sea, looking to give trainer Mike Maker his third consecutive Mac Diarmida victory, ran second, with stablemate Temple third.

Breaking from Post 6 in a field of eight, Phantom Currency – a 5-year-old gelding by Goldencents – was sent to the lead in typical style by Lopez, going a quarter-mile in 23.60 seconds with a comfortable gap back to Tide of the Sea in second as the group came through the stretch for the first time. Tide of the Sea ranged up after a half in 49.08 and went the mile in 1:38.40 to forge a short lead.

Phantom Currency responded by wresting the lead back on the turn and straightened for home in front with Tide of the Sea and Temple furthest outside closing in. Phantom Currency, a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance winner in is Gulfstream debut Jan. 13, dug in along the rail. Moon Over Miami was fourth, followed by Sir Sahib, Admission Office, Basha and Aquaphobia.

“I was surprised they left him alone like they did, and I was very happy to see him make the lead like they did and then slow it down the second quarter,” said Lynch. “He's a horse that gets very, very game when he's left alone. Paco said he gave him a little breather around the three-eighths pole and he still felt like he had a lot of horse. He let them come to him and then he crept away. I'm very proud of him. He's been an overachiever, this horse. He obviously likes this track and he's very dangerous when he's left alone.”

“It was the first time I rode the horse and Brian told me to put him on the lead,” said Lopez. “I did exactly what he told me. I had to use him in the race coming to the three-eighths [pole] and he wanted to run off a little bit the first quarter. The second quarter I got a hold of him and he got comfortable. I was on the rail and I waited. [Tide of the Sea] passed me a little bit but I was confident I had a lot of horse and in the stretch he got away from them.”

In his previous stakes attempts, Phantom Currency finished off the board in the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup and Clark (G1), the latter on dirt. Lynch finished second in the 2020 Mac Diarmida with Admission Office.

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Con Lima Awarded Herecomesthebride Via DQ Of Spanish Loveaffair

Con Lima went from bridesmaid to bride Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., , where the Todd Pletcher-trained daughter of Commissioner finished second but was placed first in the $100,000 Herecomesthebride (G3) via the disqualification of first-place finisher Spanish Loveaffair.

The Herecomesthebride, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies, kicked off a 14-race program with nine stakes worth more than $1.4 million, headlined by the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2), a key prep for the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill n' Dale Farm at Xalapa.

Con Lima ($6), who finished second in the Jan. 30 Sweetest Chant (G3) after setting the early pace, rallied from well off the early pace to finish a well-beaten second behind Spanish Loveaffair, the 8-5 favorite who drew off to finish first by 2 ¾ lengths.

However, the stewards subsequently ruled following a lengthy inquiry that Spanish Loveaffair interfered with eventual fourth-place finisher I Get It leaving the backstretch, placing the Mark Casse trainee from first to fourth.

Mail Order set the pace under Junior Alvarado, producing fractions of 23.80 and 48.10 seconds for the first half-mile with Joy of Painting and Spanish Loveaffair in close attendance. I Get it advanced quickly on the rail along the backstretch to slip inside Spanish Loveaffair but dropped back several lengths after bumping with the favorite. Spanish Loveaffair would go on to sweep to the lead with a three-wide move into the stretch to prevail by a comfortable margin. Con Lima rallied four-wide on the turn to finish second, a length ahead of Joy of Painting, who finished a nose ahead of re-rallying I Get It.

“Our plan was to go to the lead but the filly, unfortunately, didn't break that good, said Irad Ortiz Jr. “After that I just had to go to Plan B. That wasn't even our Plan B. It was Plan C, I guess. She relaxed and just sat and waited for me. I had to start working on her a little early, but she performed well and kept coming. [Spanish Loveaffair] was a better filly today, but she's a very good filly.”

Spanish Loveaffair, who was making her first start since finishing sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, ran 1 1/16 miles over a firm turf course in 1:41.30.

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‘Not Another One Like Her’: Monomoy Girl Begins 2021 Campaign In Bayakoa

If Monomoy Girl were a boy and a prospect for the 2015 NFL Draft, the evaluation probably wouldn't have been overly flattering.

Monomoy Girl was by Tapizar, not Tapit, purchased at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $100,000 not $1 million and debuted on the grass in September 2017 at Indiana Grand, not Saratoga.

But her story mirrors that quarterback from the University of Michigan, deemed too skinny and slow to make it big in the NFL. Tom Brady was a sixth-round selection in 2000, the 199^th player overall, and the seventh quarterback taken. Brady, 43, recently won his seventh Super Bowl and now has more rings than any NFL franchise.

Like Brady, Monomoy Girl's draft grade would call for a total rewrite for scouts, too. She's a two-time Eclipse Award winner, two-time Breeders' Cup champion and destined for enshrinement in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Measurables, in both cases, were meaningless.

“I think that's a fair assessment,” said Brad Cox, who has trained Monomoy Girl throughout her nearly flawless career. “There's not another one like her, as far as how she came up and transferred to the dirt. She's a special horse.”

Monomoy Girl will begin authoring another chapter, possibly the final chapter, in her brilliant racing career Sunday at Oaklawn when she makes her 6-year-old debut in the $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. Probable post time for the Bayakoa, which goes as the ninth of 10 races, is 5:11 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 1 p.m.

The projected six-horse Bayakoa field from the rail out: Chance to Shine, Ken Tohill to ride, 115 pounds, 12-1 on the morning line; Another Broad, Joel Rosario, 115, 6-1; Finite, Ricardo Santana Jr., 119, 9-5; Istan Council, Joe Talamo, 115, 6-1; Our Super Freak, David Cohen, 115, 6-1; and Monomoy Girl, Florent Geroux, 119, even money.

Two other stakes are on Sunday's card, the $150,000 Dixie Belle for 3-year-old filly sprinters and the $150,000 Downthedustyroad for female Arkansas-bred sprinters.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong of Conway, Ark., have the program favorites in both races – unbeaten Abrogate (5-2) in the Dixie Belle and multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Bye Bye J (3-1) in the Downthedustyroad.

But Sunday's unquestioned headliner is Monomoy Girl, among the most accomplished horses ever entered at Oaklawn.

Monomoy Girl has a 13-2-0 record from 15 lifetime starts and earnings of $4,426,818. One of her losses was a disqualification (stretch interference in the 2018 Cotillion), the other also self-inflicted (lugged in and out late and beaten a neck in the 2017 Golden Rod). Seven victories have come in Grade 1 company, including the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (2018 and 2020) and the $1 million Kentucky Oaks in 2018 at Churchill Downs. She has won at six tracks. She won her first two career starts on turf before switching, ultra-successfully, to dirt.

Monomoy Girl was the country's champion 3-year-old filly of 2018 and after missing 2019 because of injury and illness was crowned champion older dirt female of 2020. She was unbeaten in four races last year, including the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 7 at Keeneland in her last start.

“To me, she's one of the best fillies that's ever lived,” said bloodstock agent Liz Crow, who selected and purchased Monomoy Girl for her original owner, Sol Kumin. “I know that maybe sounds a little aggressive, but she did win the Breeders' Cup twice and she's one of only three fillies, I think, or four fillies to ever do that. She's the only filly in history to win the five Grade 1s she won as a 3-year-old, the Oaks, the Ashland, the Acorn, the Coaching Club and the Breeders' Cup. To me, she's done it all. She's really answered all the questions, and she deserves to be a Hall of Famer, I think, one day.”

The Bayakoa will mark Monomoy Girl's first start in Hot Springs. Cox said he's using the race as a prep for the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17 at Oaklawn. Monomoy Girl had been under consideration for the Apple Blossom, among the country's signature two-turn events for older fillies and mares, in 2019 before being derailed and was “very, very close” to making her 2020 comeback, Cox said, in a late-season allowance race at Oaklawn. Instead, it came in mid-May at Churchill Downs.

“When we brought her back in the allowance race at Churchill, that was a lot of pressure, having been off 18 months, whatever it was,” Cox said. “Here, it's not as if we ever took her out of training. We backed off of her after the Breeders' Cup, but we never shut her down. We continued to train her lightly throughout November and December. I feel confident that she's pretty tight and pretty much ready to go. I'm excited to bring her up here. It's a great racing town and they appreciate good horses.”

Monomoy Girl arrived Wednesday night in Hot Springs after being based this winter at Fair Grounds.

Cox's go-to rider, Florent Geroux, has ridden Monomoy Girl in her last 14 starts. Geroux said Monomoy Girl has flourished because of a “big heart” and the resolve to reach the finish line first.

“She's a very gifted, talented mare,” Geroux said. “She takes her track with her. It's not like's only good at Churchill or Keeneland. She goes anywhere, East Coast, Midwest, and does great everywhere she goes. I think that's one of the main assets for her.”

The Bayakoa also will mark Monomoy Girl's first start since Spendthrift Farm purchased her for $9.5 million in November at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. Monomoy Girl will join Spendthrift's broodmare band upon retirement, but that figures to be in 2022 after the famed racing/breeding operation of founder B. Wayne Hughes opted to keep her training with Cox this year.

Spendthrift stallion sales manager Mark Toothaker said his affinity for Monomoy Girl began after a conversation with Arkansas horseman Dan White in the fall of 2017, shortly before the horse, then 2 for 2, made her stakes and dirt debut in the $80,000 Rags to Riches at Churchill Downs.

Toothaker said White was struck by Monomoy Girl's efficient action and believed she had a “big chance” to win. Monomoy Girl delivered, by 6 ½ emphatic lengths.

“That was really the first time I got her on my radar,” said Toothaker, who grew up in Van Buren, Ark., about 130 miles northwest of Hot Springs. “Boy, who would have ever dreamed she'd go on and do what she did. Just incredible. I think it goes back to the first time that I ever had a chance to see her, just as a fan. Just the efficiency that she moved with and the amount of ground that she covered. She's got what all the champions have got. Just got the killer instinct and she's going to beat you. She's going to run right by you and break your heart. She's got that 'it' factor. No doubt about it.”

In addition to Spendthrift, Monomoy Girl is now campaigned by MyRacehorse, which offers fractional ownership to investors, and Kumin, who bought back into the mare. Crow co-owns ELiTE Sales, which consigned Monomoy Girl to Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale and is an integral part of Kumin's racing team.

“I think this is just the cherry on top, this year,” Crow said. “I think Hot Springs is one of the best places in the country for racing fans and I really hope everybody enjoys getting to watch her run live. I think that's what this year is all about. Hopefully, she gives a lot of fans an opportunity to enjoy her.”

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