Breeders' Cup Buzz Horse: #5 Mucho Macho Man

Analysis of key prep (Grade 1 Whitney H.): Mucho Macho Man, the runner-up in the Classic last year, ran his best race so far in this year's Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. Many would argue that his romping win in the Awesome Again last out at Santa Anita was better, and it obviously was more visually impressive.  But numerically, he ran faster in the Whitney at every point of call and to the finish.  He was assigned a TimeformUS speed figure of 124 for that performance. What is more, the competition in the Awesome Again was not very strong.  The fact that Mucho Macho Man was the 8-5 favorite in a big field in California shows how strong the crowd believed the Saratoga race was in comparison to his competition last trip.  The Whitney featured an above-average pace set by winner Cross Traffic.  The opening quarter and half earned TimeformUS figures of 140, the 6f went in 133, the mile in 131, and the race finished up in a final time of 126.   From this race, Mucho Macho Man, Ron the Greek, Fort Larned, and Alpha all returned to win soon after, and all are likely to show up for the Classic this year.

-Analysis by Craig Milkowski