page_title: Mucho Macho Man
section_title: 2013: five-year-old season
hierarchical_section_title: Mucho Macho Man / Racing career / 2013: five-year-old season
caption_attribution_description: English: Screenshot (0:41/1:49) of the video Retour fracassant de Gary Stevens dans la Breeders' Cup Classic 2013 image shows Mucho Macho Man Winning, second is Will Take Charge, Declaration of War third, not visible between the first two horses, Fort Larned fourth
context_page_description: Mucho Macho Man is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse notable as the winner of the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was foaled in Florida and named after the Village People song "Macho Man". His breeders were Carole and John Rio of Florida, who owned his dam. His foalhood nickname was "Lazarus" because he appeared lifeless at birth, but spontaneously revived. He grew to be a very large horse, standing over 17 hands high. Throughout most of his racing career, Mucho Macho Man was primarily owned by Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing of Suwanee, Georgia. They purchased a majority interest in him after his first race in 2010, and in 2012 became his sole owners. In February 2014, Frank Stronach purchased an undisclosed share in the horse on behalf of his Adena Springs Farms, owner of Mucho Macho Man's sire, Macho Uno.
  When Dean and Patti Reeves purchased the horse, they placed him with horse trainer Tim Ritvo, who shortly thereafter began a job with Gulfstream Park. Training duties were turned over to Tim's wife and fellow trainer Kathy Ritvo, who trained Mucho Macho Man from his fourth race on.
context_section_description: Mucho Macho Man began his 2013 season by running again in the Sunshine Millions Classic, but the track was sloppy, and on this occasion he was pulled up in the homestretch and placed last in the race.  As the horse was not visibly lame, jockey Smith told Ritvo, "It's gotta be something inside." Though speculation was that he simply did not like the wet track, shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with a respiratory virus. He also developed a quarter crack in his hoof and spent the rest of the spring recuperating at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland.
  In June, he returned to the track.  Ridden by Edgar Prado, he started as the odds-on favorite for the Criminal Type Stakes at Belmont Park but finished third of the five runners. On August 3, he finished third to Cross Traffic and Successful Dan in the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga, with Ron The Greek fourth and Fort Larned fifth.  It was at this time that his proclivity to win only when in front at the eighth pole was first commented upon in the racing press.  He was once again entered in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on August 31, but Ritvo scratched him on the day of the race due to the wet track, described as a "sea of slop".
  Ritvo then moved Mucho Macho Man to Santa Anita Park almost two months before the Breeders' Cup races because she felt he "thrived" in California. It was a major commitment for the horse's team, as Ritvo, Green, Petro, Tapia and Lopez had to leave their home base in Florida, and Reeves had to cover the expenses. Dean Reeves said, "Everybody has basically put their lives and their family second to the benefit and the best we can do for Macho." The horse's next race was the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on September 28.  Because both Smith and Prado had prior riding commitments, Ritvo and Green decided to contact Gary Stevens. Stevens' contribution to the human interest saga included a comeback in 2013 after having been forced to retire seven years earlier due to debilitating knee pain. He also had his own near-death experience, having survived a major riding accident in 2003.  In a twist of serendipity, Stevens' agent, Craig O'Brien, came by the barn to inquire about the horse's availability about the same time Ritvo and Green had decided to see if Stevens was available. Stevens later claimed to be unaware of his agent's machinations. Noting that Stevens had portrayed Seabiscuit's jockey George Woolf in the eponymous film, Ritvo later joked, "I was in Hollywood. How could I not use a film star?" In the course of the Awesome Again, Mucho Macho Man settled behind the leaders before making a bid on the final turn. The horse led by three lengths in the homestretch, and accelerated clear of the field to win easily by ​4 ¹⁄₂ lengths over Paynter. It was his first win in 2013 and his first Grade I stakes win.  The victory was also a "win and you're in" qualifying race for the Breeders' Cup Classic, which included a waiver of the $100,000 entry fee for the Classic.
  On November 2, Mucho Macho Man contested his second Breeders' Cup Classic and was the second favorite at 4–1 in a strong field that included Game On Dude (the favorite), Paynter, Palace Malice, Fort Larned, Will Take Charge and Flat Out, as well as the European challenger Declaration of War.  The horse broke quickly from the gate and took the lead, but Stevens decided to settle him just behind the leaders before going to the outside and moving to the front on the final turn. In the closing stages, he held off two strong late challenges to win by a slim nose over second-place finisher Will Take Charge and by a head over third-place finisher, the European contender Declaration of War. After Mucho Macho Man's victory, the 50-year-old Stevens, winning the Classic for the first time after 14 previous attempts, said, "this was a tremendous experience to win this race... It's the icing on the cake of my career." Ritvo was credited with a "super" job of training the horse.  In a moment of synchronicity, actress Elizabeth Banks, who co-starred with Stevens in Seabiscuit, playing Marcella Howard, pr
caption: Mucho Macho Man (right, leading) winning the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic
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