Chester and Mary Broman’s Friend Or Foe was “big-eyed and happy” Sunday morning following his resounding victory in the Empire Classic, and trainer John Kimmel was delighted to learn that the colt’s stakes-record time of 1:46.94 was the fastest of the year at Belmont Park by nearly two seconds as well as the fastest at the track since Rachel Alexandra’s stakes-record 1:46.33 in the Mother Goose in June, 2009.
“That’s the thing with mechanically superior horses,” said Kimmel of the strapping chestnut colt, who will likely go next in the Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on November 27. “They’re more efficient and can cover more ground with fewer strides. Once he gets into a rhythm, he’s got a very high cruising speed. Alex [Solis] said he never hit him, just showed him the stick a time or two. I couldn’t be more pleased with him.”
Although the owners were in Florida to attend a wedding on Saturday, Kimmel said that Chester Broman was able to view the race by going to a nearby dog track, the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
“He said he went over and watched all by himself,” said Kimmel with a laugh. “He only got to see it once, because he had to go back, but they were delighted.”
The win was almost enough to ease the sting of the New York Yankees’ loss to the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series for Kimmel.
“I’ve been worried about them all year,” said Kimmel, a devoted Yankee fan. “I really thought they were up against it with the Rangers, and they totally manhandled them.”