Mucho Macho Man clocks five-eighths for Woodward; Wise Dan returns to work tab

Mucho Macho Man clocks five-eighths for Woodward; Wise Dan

returns to work tab

Multiple Grade 2 hero Mucho Macho Man put in his

final work for next Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward at Saratoga, breezing five furlongs in 1:03

2/5 over that venue's fast main track Sunday morning.

Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado was aboard for the work,

the second for the five-year-old son of Macho Uno since finishing third in the

Whitney on August 3.

"He went good," Prado said of Mucho Macho Man, who is

trained by Kathy Ritvo for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. "He went nice and easy

the first part, picked it up and finished up good. That's what Kathy wanted, so

that's what we did."

Prado has ridden Mucho Macho Man in each of his past two

starts. He was third in the Criminal Type overnight stakes on June 14 off a

five-month layoff, and third, beaten 2 1/4 lengths, in the Whitney by

front-running winner Cross Traffic.

"He was running hard and strong every step of the way (in

the Whitney). I definitely think that he got something out of the race," Prado

said. "He tries all the time. Both times I rode him, he tried real hard; he just

couldn't catch the horse in front."

Mucho Macho Man won three of six starts in 2012, all

stakes -- the Sunshine Millions Classic, Gulfstream Park Handicap and

Suburban Handicap. He closed the year finishing second

in both the Woodward, by a neck, and the Breeders' Cup Classic, by a

half-length.

This year, Mucho Macho Man is 0-for-3, but Prado feels the

horse is moving in the right direction.

"He is going good into this race," Prado said. "He's training very good.

Kathy is happy, and I'm really happy with the way he's doing. Hopefully, the

(Woodward) shapes up the way it did last time, and we'll be able to run those

horses down."

Mucho Macho Man will see a familiar face in the Woodward starting gate in the

form of Successful Dan, who had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over the five-year-old

when second in the Whitney. Trainer Charlie LoPresti is looking forward to this weekend, in

which he will not only send out Successful Dan in the Woodward but also Turallure

in the Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap on the same card.

With his early work behind him, the Brooklyn native sat in the sun on a red

feed tub outside his barn, reading the paper and soaking in a glorious Saratoga

morning on Sunday.

Inevitably, the conversation turned to reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan,

who stretched his win streak to eight in the Fourstardave Handicap at the Spa on August 10. He returned to the

worktab with a half-mile breeze over the main track in :47 2/5 seconds on

Saturday, the fastest of 38 horses at the distance.

"That was a walk in the park for him," LoPresti said. "I don't put too much

(emphasis) on times with him. I really like to watch how he does it and how he

comes back. He didn't even act like he worked yesterday. I don't mean that to be

bragging on him; that's just how he is. He's just a really special horse, and

the more I'm around him the more I realize just how special he is."

Bred and owned by Morton Fink, Wise Dan has won Grade 1

stakes on dirt and turf. He has raced exclusively on grass since beginning his

streak in last year's Fourstardave, and LoPresti said he will remain on the

surface for the foreseeable future.

"He can run in (the Woodward). There's no doubt in my mind

he can run on the dirt," LoPresti said. "The way he worked here the other day,

it was incredible. I just wanted to give him a work to just keep him ticking

over, and he worked really good.

"I'm probably going to keep him here now. I was going to send him to

Kentucky, but I'm going to keep him here until we leave, which is going to be

next Sunday. We'll leave after the Woodward and Bernard Baruch. We'll let them

rest through the night and around lunchtime the next day, we'll go home."

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