TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1087484
and with a horse that hadn't even turned three yet. We ran in the Preakness and the Belmont and that was, as I tell people, all for my benefit. After, we gave him a good six months off and when he came back, he had really put on a whole lot of weight and muscle. He had gotten a lot better and went on to have a great career." Great is an understatement. Mucho Ma- cho Man won both the GII Gulfstream Park H. and GII Suburban H. in 2012 and fin- ished second in that year's GI Woodward S. and GI Breeders' Cup Classic, coming up just a half-length short of Fort Larned. The following year, the hulking bay fin- ished third in the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga and was scratched from an expected start in the GI Woodward S. after rain flooded the track. Ritvo called an audible and re-routed her charge to the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita, which would also play host to that year's Breeders' Cup. This meant the now-5-year-old would need a new pilot as Woodward rider Edgar Prado had a previ- ous commitment on the day of the Awe- some Again. In yet another twist of fate in Mucho Macho Man's career, Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, who was in the midst of an- other comeback, got the call. The pair went on to win the Awesome Again and made history with a hard-fought success over eventual champi- on 3-year-old Will Take Charge in the Breeders' Cup Classic. It was the type of story made for the movies as Ritvo, a heart transplant recipi- ent, became the first fe- male trainer to capture the Classic and Stevens, the comeback kid, was winning the prestigious race for the first time in his illustrious career at age 50. "Gary did a great job and Mucho Ma- cho Man gave it all he got, which he did every race," said Reeves with the look of a proud parent, which was reflected by Patti Reeves. "I told everybody in the box not to do anything. I thought we lost be- cause of the angle we were at. I was just hoping they would put up number six, so, when they did, it was pretty huge. It is such a whirlwind thing to win a race like that. "IT IS SUCH A WHIRLWIND THING TO WIN A RACE LIKE THAT. WHEN WE GOT DOWN TO THE TRACK, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR WHO TO HUG."