The Kathy Ritvo trainee was also handing his sire Macho Uno a cross-country,
Dispatched as the 8-5 favorite with his new rider, Hall of Famer Gary
But the ominous presence of Mucho Macho Man was already bearing down on Chief
“The race was pretty much over at the three-eighths pole,” Stevens recapped.
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“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, who had not raced since July 2012.
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.”
After reappearing with a 5 3/4-length allowance romp at Aqueduct, Mucho Macho
Mucho Macho Man kicked off 2013 with another tilt at the Florida Sunshine
Ritvo decided to ship west to take advantage of the sunny California weather,
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“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.
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