MUCHO MACHO MAN (Macho Uno), a leading contender for this year’s Kentucky
Derby (G1), breezed four furlongs at Gulfstream Park Saturday under exercise
rider Mike Heera. Mucho Macho Man was clocked in :48 2/5 in preparation for a
start in the Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds on March 26. It was the eighth
fastest clocking of 32 recorded at the distance.
“He went great. It was just what we wanted,” said trainer Kathy Ritvo, who
was particularly pleased with the manner in which Mucho Macho Man finished
during the work. “He’s been great, super, just like his old self. He’s come out
of his race very well.”
Mucho Macho Man, who concluded his 2010 campaign with a pair of runner-up
finishes behind To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) in the Nashua S. (G2) and Remsen
S. (G2), began his three-year-old campaign with a fourth-place finish in the
Holy Bull S. (G3) at Gulfstream on January 30.
The Florida-bred colt rebounded impressively with a 1 1/2-length triumph in
the Risen Star S. (G2) on February 19 at Fair Grounds, where he negotiated the 1
1/16-mile distance in 1:43 4/5. His professional performance, in which he
relaxed just off the early pace while racing without blinkers for the first
time, prompted Ritvo to schedule the 1 1/8-mile Louisiana Derby as Mucho Macho
Man’s final Kentucky Derby prep.
“I think the distance will be good for him. I think he likes the track and
definitely the two turns,” said Ritvo, who will work her colt two more times
before shipping to Fair Grounds in the middle of Louisiana Derby week. “He’s
definitely more mature than he was when we were back in New York.”
Mucho Macho Man will be ridden again by Rajiv Maragh, who was a last-minute
replacement in the Risen Star for regular rider Eibar Coa, who was hospitalized
with a broken C4 vertebra in a racing spill at Gulfstream the day before the
race. The colt’s majority owner Dean Reeves visited Coa in Memorial Regional
Hospital Friday to present him with a check for $18,000, the amount of the
winning jockey’s share of the Risen Star purse.
Mucho Macho Man’s success has been a career highlight for his trainer, Kathy
Ritvo, who received a heart transplant in November 2008.
“It’s amazing; it’s amazing; it’s amazing,” Ritvo said. “Every day is a great
day to have my health and have a good horse. I’m so blessed, so lucky.”
Mucho Macho Man was joined on the Gulfstream work tab by ROGUE ROMANCE
(Smarty Jones), who is also scheduled to run in the Louisiana Derby. The Ken
McPeek-trained colt, who closed to finish third behind the Ritvo trainee in the
Risen Star, breezed four furlongs in :48 3/5.
The McPeek-trained KATHMANBLU (Bluegrass Cat), who will accompany Rogue
Romance to Louisiana to run in the Fair Ground Oaks (G2) the same day, breezed
four furlongs in :50 4/5. Kathmanblu, who captured the Sweetest Chant S. over
the Gulfstream turf on January 22, captured the Rachel Alexandra S. (G3) at Fair
Grounds on February 19.