Mucho Macho Man Prepares for 2014 Debut

Multiple Grade 1 winner and fan favorite Mucho Macho Man was on Gulfstream Park’s main track shortly after 7:30 Sunday morning to continue preparations for his 2014 debut.            

Under regular exercise rider Nick Petro, the Florida-bred son of Macho Uno breezed five furlongs in 1:01.70.            

It was the fourth work for Mucho Macho Man, all at Gulfstream, since his thrilling nose victory over Will Take Charge in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.            

In his prior breeze, Mucho Macho Man went five furlongs in 1:00.03 on Dec. 22, second-fastest of 31 horses. He worked three furlongs in 37.65 seconds on Dec. 7, and a half-mile in 49.85 on Dec. 15.            

“He worked good today,” said Kathy Ritvo, who trains Mucho Macho Man for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. “The track was good. He went very well, and he came back great. He’s just been training very, very well.”            

Mucho Macho Man is 8-for-23 lifetime with five graded stakes wins as well as the 2012 Sunshine Millions Classic. After being pulled up in his 2013 debut in defense of his title, Mucho Macho Man was third in both the Criminal Type in June and the Whitney Invitational Handicap (G1) in August before winning the Awesome Again (G1) on Sept. 28 at Santa Anita prior to the BC Classic.            

“He won the biggest race of the year,” Ritvo said. “We’ll see how they vote for the Eclipse Awards. He had a great year. He had a slow start, but I’m very proud of him. He couldn’t have run any better in his last couple races. Hopefully, the people that think he’s the best horse will vote for him. He’s such a neat horse.”