Macho Man flexes muscle in Awesome Again

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Mucho Macho Man signaled his Breeders' Cup

Classic intent by dominating Saturday's Grade 1, $251,250

Awesome Again at Santa Anita by 4 1/4 lengths. A close runner-up to Fort

Larned in last year's Classic, the imposing five-year-old locked up a spot in

the November 2 renewal at the same venue along with his first career Grade 1

title.

The Kathy Ritvo trainee was also handing his sire Macho Uno a cross-country,

Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" double. Earlier in the day at Belmont Park,

Macho Uno's son Private Zone was all heart in the Vosburgh, propelling himself

into the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Dispatched as the 8-5 favorite with his new rider, Hall of Famer Gary

Stevens, Mucho Macho Man settled into his long-striding rhythm just off the pace

while wide. Up front, Summer Hit dictated fractions of :22 4/5 and :47 2/5 on

the fast track. Chief Havoc moved up from his tracking position to challenge the

pacesetter and briefly took a slim lead at the six-furlong mark in 1:11 2/5.

But the ominous presence of Mucho Macho Man was already bearing down on Chief

Havoc, and the favorite forged clear at the top of the stretch. Stamping his

authority in no uncertain terms, Mucho Macho Man reeled off the mile in 1:35

2/5, finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 1/5, and returned $5.20 to win.

"The race was pretty much over at the three-eighths pole," Stevens recapped.

"He has a tremendous stride and he runs the turns really well. He's very

athletic. I let him stretch himself a little at the three-eighths pole and had

him pick it up again at the quarter-pole.

"Had the race been a mile and one quarter (like the Classic), I probably

wouldn't have been as aggressive as I was, but they told me to get a good race

in and get a good gallop-out of him afterwards, which I did. This horse only has

to make up a neck from last year's Breeders' Cup Classic and I think he's a

bigger, stronger horse than he was last year."

Reeves' Racing Manager Finn Green praised Stevens' ride.

"Fabulous -- it was a great ride," Green said. "We told Gary he'd been on

some great horses and we hoped we were putting him on a great horse today. He

was excited. We were all excited."

Paynter, this year's amazing comebacker and a son of race honoree Awesome

Again, finished best of the rest by 2 1/4 lengths. Soi Phet reported home third,

followed by Golden Ticket, Chief Havoc, Liaison, Summer Hit, You Know I Know,

Jeranimo and Take Control.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed that Paynter is on course for the

Classic.

"I think he ran well," Baffert said. "He was behind there. He took a lot of

dirt; actually he settled pretty well and came wide. He was finishing up really

well. The winner ran a big race. He will continue on to the Breeders' Cup

Classic. I liked his race."

Baffert also commented on his unplaced runners Liaison and Take Control.

"(Liaison) was in there. Some horses they just run into the sand here and he

didn't like that. He likes to be outside.

"I was hoping (Take Control) would run a little bit better, but I was taking

a shot with him off the layoff to do something, but it didn't work out."

With this new career high, Mucho Macho Man has amassed $2,590,410 in earnings

from his 22-7-5-6 line. Although a very late foal born on June 15, the lanky bay

came to hand early enough to be a promising two-year-old in 2010, placing second

in both the Nashua and Remsen. He made noise on the 2011 Triple Crown trail by

capturing the Risen Star and finishing third in both the Louisiana Derby and

Kentucky Derby. Unplaced in the Preakness and Belmont, he was given a five-month

holiday.

After reappearing with a 5 3/4-length allowance romp at Aqueduct, Mucho Macho

Man opened his four-year-old campaign with convincing wins in the 2012 Florida

Sunshine Millions Classic and Gulfstream Park Handicap. His three-race win

streak was halted when third in the Alysheba at Churchill, but he roared back to

take the Suburban in grand style, and concluded the season with near-misses in

the Woodward and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Mucho Macho Man kicked off 2013 with another tilt at the Florida Sunshine

Millions Classic, but he hated the slop, dropped back badly, and pulled up.

Freshened until the summer, he wound up third in the June 14 Criminal Type at

Belmont, and filled the same place behind Cross Traffic and Successful Dan in

the August 3 Whitney last out.

Ritvo decided to ship west to take advantage of the sunny California weather,

and reduce the chances of sloppy tracks potentially compromising his training

back East. Mucho Macho Man has been at Santa Anita since early September, giving

him the chance to turn in three works in preparation for the Awesome Again.

"I don't think it made much difference," the trainer said of shipping in

early. "He's a runner. He travels well. He seems to thrive here.

"I just hope we can get ready for the (Breeders' Cup) races. He's doing

great. I don't know what else to say right now. He's doing real well."

"The horse travels well," Green said. "We shipped once early to Churchill for

the Alysheba and the track was not to his liking and we trained there too long.

But he loves this racetrack. It was a good ship."

The racing manager is anticipating a vintage Breeders' Cup Classic in five

weeks' time.

"It's gonna be strong," Green said. "Game On Dude is running really well this

year. Ron the Greek (Saturday's impressive winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup)

looked great today. We looked pretty good, too."

Bred by John and Carole Rio in Florida, Mucho Macho Man is a half-brother to

the stakes-placed Mucho Mans Gold. They were produced by the stakes-winning

Ponche mare Ponche de Leona. Tracing the female line farther back, this is the

family of multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire Guided Tour; Grade 1 scorers

Dream Empress and Prenup; and multiple Grade 2 heroines Possible Mate and Fairy

Garden.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com