Chelsea Durand Photo

Buy Land and See streaks into $85K Mahony

by Keith McCalmont

Buy Land and See will bring a three-race win streak into Wednesday's $85,000 Mahony at Saratoga Race Course.

The Mahony, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for sophomores, is named in honor of Patrick Mahony, the longtime senior vice president of mutuels at NYRA. Mahony, who spent more than 50 years in the racing industry, retired in 2016.

Joseph Imbesi's Pennsylvania-bred Buy Land and See enters the Mahony from a trio of turf scores including a second-out graduation in September at Parx in a track record 1:30.03 for 7 ½-furlongs; a neck score in the one-turn mile Awad in October at Belmont; and a 5 ½-length romp under wraps in a 7 ½-furlong restricted allowance tilt on July 28 in his seasonal debut at Parx.

Trainer Steve Klesaris said Buy Land and See overcame a great deal of adversity after becoming ill over the winter.

"A month after the Awad, he shipped to Florida and got extremely sick. We thought we were going to lose him," said Klesaris. "In the first couple days of December he was running fevers and had a bout of pneumonia. He had veterinary care around the clock and specialists coming in from the universities until he was diagnosed.

"It took him four or five weeks to come back to himself and feel better," continued Klesaris. "He dropped some weight and we didn't really know what to expect on his return or if there would be repercussions from it."

Buy Land and See returned to the worktab in June at Delaware Park and fired off a number of bullet works ahead of his seasonal debut.

"When we got him back to real training, we hoped with every breeze he would come back to himself," said Klesaris. "It was very gratifying to get him back to the races and with a winning effort at Parx where he holds the track record. We're excited now to get him to Saratoga and move forward."

The lone blemish on the Cairo Prince colt's record is a debut effort when third in a loaded 5 ½-furlong maiden turf sprint last August at Saratoga won by Mystic Lancelot with eventual Grade 2 Blue Grass winner and Kentucky Derby contender Art Collector in second.

"He broke from the rail and was away poorly and he was well back early," recalled Klesaris of the maiden voyage. "He swung out and closed up really well so we were excited about him at that point. Since then, he's done nothing wrong."

Buy Land and See's older graded-stakes placed half-sister Sweet Bye and Bye, who was also trained by Klesaris, ran third in the Caress, a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint here on August 1 for trainer Anthony Dutrow.

Klesaris said the result indicated that Buy Land and See could be capable on the turn back as they look forward towards a start in the Grade 3, $500,000 Franklin-Simpson at 6 1/2-furlongs at Kentucky Downs on September 16.

"They have a lot of similarities. Sweet Bye and Bye had a very good sprint at Saratoga a couple weeks back. Both of them excel between six furlongs and a mile," said Klesaris. "There's a race at Kentucky Downs in the middle of September that we'd like to point towards and we'll use this race as a determining point if we're going there or not."

Klesaris said he's just happy to be bringing a healthy horse back to Saratoga.

"Certainly, with what he went through in December, we had high concerns about how he might return to the races." said Klesaris. "So far, he's shown me all the right things. The race at Parx was a perfect condition for him against state-breds and a perfect kick-off race for the season. Hopefully he can go on to bigger and better things, but I've always thought of him as a graded-stakes horse."

Jose Ortiz, aboard for the maiden score, has the call from the inside post.

Trainer Linda Rice will saddle a pair of top contenders in last out Grade 3 Quick Call-winner Turned Aside and the consistent New York-bred Power Up Paynter.

Paul Pompa, Jr.'s Turned Aside, a bay son of American Pharoah, turned the tables on long-time rival and fellow Mahony aspirant Jack and Noah last out with a prominent performance in the 5 ½-furlong Quick Call.

Turned Aside had seen Jack and Noah win three previous races in which the two matched up including the Sir Cat on June 19 at Belmont to kick off his sophomore campaign, before posting a 1 ¾-length score in the Quick Call.

Jose Lezcano retains the mount from post 10.

Power Up Paynter, co-owned by Rice with Winning Move Stable, MyRaceHorse Stable, Sanford H. Robbins and Michael Jaffe, boasts a record of 9-2-2-1. Bred in New York by James Everatt, Janeane Everatt and Arika Everatt-Meeuse, the Paynter gelding graduated at fifth asking on the Big A main track in December.

After completing the exacta in his first two starts in 2020, Power Up Paynter captured a six-furlong turf sprint, besting a field of 12 older New York-bred allowance horses by one length.

A last-out sixth sprinting 5 ½-furlongs on the Saratoga turf, Power Up Paynter will engage the services of Dylan Davis from post 4.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will send out the talented duo of Jack and Noah and Old Chestnut.

Gary Barber's Jack and Noah, a grey son of Bated Breath, captured the Atlantic Beach on the Big A turf in November and was a front-running winner of the Sir Cat in June at Belmont. Last out, the French-bred colt set a pressured pace in the Quick Call before fading to fifth.

Jack and Noah, who breezed a bullet five furlongs in 59.83 seconds August 16 on the Oklahoma training turf, will be piloted by Hall of Famer John Velazquez from post 9.

Live Oak Plantation's Old Chestnut, a well-bred son of Speightstown out of Grade 1-winner Pool Land, broke through in stakes company when taking the Ontario Racing over five furlongs of Woodbine turf in September.

Old Chestnut has made 8-of-9 career starts in stakes events with a record of 2-1-1. He utilized a rallying effort to complete the exacta behind Turned Aside last out in the Quick Call.

Junior Alvarado retains the mount from post 5.

Richard Ravin's Maven, an American Pharoah chestnut bred and trained by Wesley Ward, will look for his first stakes win when exiting post 8 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Out of the multiple stakes winner Richies Party Girl, Maven graduated on debut on the Big A main track in April 2019 to provide his sire his first North American winner and followed up by winning the Group 3 Prix du Bois at Chantilly in France that June. He completed his juvenile campaign with a tenth-place effort in the Group 3 Molecomb at Goodwood.

Maven arrives at the Skidmore from a winning seasonal debut in a 5 ½-furlong turf allowance on July 8 at Keeneland.

Rounding out the field are Flap Jack [post 2, Tyler Gaffalione], Competitive Saint [post 3, Luis Saez], Island Commish [post 6, Joel Rosario] and Cajun Casanova [post 7, Kendrick Carmouche]. Sky of Hook [Saez] is entered for the main-track only.

The Mahony is slated as Race 7 on the 9-race card, which offers a first post of 12:50 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, NYRA Bets is currently offering a $200 new member bonus in addition to a host of special weekly offers. The NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.