Throughout this yr’s NBC Breeders’ Cup World Championship protection, reporter Kenny Rice reminisced about his favourite Breeders’ Cup Traditional win in 2013. “Ten years in the past, there was a second that was proper out of Hollywood. The coach was little identified. Her identify Kathy Ritvo. She was a coronary heart transplant recipient. The jockey was identified. He was a Corridor of Famer, however he had dangerous knees and he had been retired for seven years. However Gary Stevens got here again and received within the saddle. And the horse? Mucho Macho Man!”

Mucho Macho Man was owned by a syndicate involving Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Group One Racing Stables. Main proprietor Dean Reeves remembers the primary time he laid eyes on “Mucho.” He had shipped to Saratoga and was going to race in a maiden particular weight race for 2-year-olds. “I observed how tall he was within the stall. That they had eliminated a piece within the stall to provide him extra room as a result of he stored hitting his head. Once they introduced him out, I used to be like ‘WOW!’ ”

He was spectacular. He had run in 22 races together with the 2011 Triple Crown Races — third within the Kentucky Derby, sixth within the Preakness Stakes, and seventh within the Belmont Stakes. Successful races included the 2012 Florida Sunshine Tens of millions Traditional Stakes, the 2012 Gulfstream Park Handicap, and the 2012 Suburban Handicap at Belmont.

However the race that actually stung was the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Traditional by which he got here in second by half a size. He actually tried and had drawn up alongside the winner Fort Larned midstretch and gamely dueled. It was a tough defeat.

His connections persevered in the course of the subsequent yr as they rigorously deliberate his marketing campaign to return for the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Traditional. Coach Kathy Ritvo put her coronary heart and soul into ensuring that Mucho was going to be on the prime of his recreation. Initially, jockey Edgar Prado had the decision, however he was dedicated to a different horse. After consulting with the Reeves, Ritvo reached out to Corridor of Fame jockey Gary Stevens to see if he could be eager about driving Mucho Macho Man within the Superior Once more Stakes at Santa Anita in September. Stevens had come out of retirement in January 2013. He rode Oxbow to a sixth-place that spring within the Kentucky Derby after which guided him to an unforgettable upset win within the Preakness Stakes. 

Ritvo and her racing group introduced Mucho Macho Man to Santa Anita early to acclimate him to the monitor. Stevens was finding out Mucho’s earlier races. He was well-prepared for the Superior Once more Stakes once they kicked clear and proved they have been the very best towards Paynter and Soi Phet.

Now it was onto the Breeders’ Cup Traditional! The competitors included defending Traditional winner Fort Larned, Declaration of Struggle, Todd Pletcher’s Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice, and Bob Baffert’s Sport On Dude and Paynter. Ritvo stored Mucho sequestered on the bottom. She defined “He was type of shy when individuals got here to him. If he was outdoors the barn, he wished to be seen and admired. However once we have been within the stall, he simply wanted his time. That’s how he was snug.” He was a ham when he was outdoors. He would cease so individuals might take photographs of him. As soon as once more, because of his dimension, Ritvo had a wall eliminated so he might sleep comfortably in a double stall. 

Reeves remembers going to pet him on the brow and, “he nearly ripped my arm off! He was so mentally centered on that race! I appreciated how Kathy stored him sequestered to maintain him calm. She knew that horse inside and outside. It’s fascinating to look again at their connection.”

On the stroll over for the $5 million race, Ritvo stated the whole lot was quiet. “He was a relaxed, skilled horse, and he was excellent.”  

Stevens was prepared and had spent lots of time within the barn. Stevens had famous that Mucho would sulk if the whip was used. They determined to not use it and flag him if mandatory. 

He had loads of confidence as he had gained the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Beholder the day earlier than. As he was standing outdoors the jockey’s room, he was met by Reeves racing supervisor Finn Inexperienced. Stevens remembers that Inexperienced pointed to the clock above the door and stated, “In 18 minutes, our lives are about to alter without end.” It was a robust omen.  

That they had a “good, clear break” in accordance with Stevens. “He was tremendous sharp! He left there like a Quarter Horse and outbroke them. I might have put him on the lead. He’s so push-button. He was very fluid. I had a sense that he would combat, and I wished to avoid wasting that.

“I let him roll away from there for a sixteenth of a mile. Moreno got here up on the within and Sport on Dude on the skin and Fort Larned. I simply slid my palms again somewhat bit, and he shut it down. It is precisely what I wished him to do. I regarded again to see the place Will Take Cost was going into the primary flip. I did not need anyone on the skin of him.

“He is a giant, long-striding horse, and he was highly effective down the again facet. He was fairly aggressive. Not rank in any respect however giving me a really feel totally different than what I had within the Superior Once more. We rolled into the flip, and I knew that I had Sport On Dude anytime I wished him.”

As deliberate, Stevens solely confirmed Mucho the whip. “He gave me the whole lot that he had. Contained in the sixteenth pole, I twirled my whip and did not hit him with it. He surged once more. It was like oh, ‘thanks, buddy! You are not going to hit me!’ He is a really clever horse. We got here into the stretch, and he was giving me an excellent really feel. Rapidly within the final hundred yards, I used to be being attacked from all sides. He appeared like he wished it as a lot as I did. I began asking him for his finest. The more durable I rode, the extra he stored grinding. The ultimate strides, he simply wouldn’t hand over. It was an excellent second and an excellent subject. It was a detailed picture.”

Stevens was extremely conscious of Will Take Cost’s place. “I knew who it was and the way onerous he fights!” Will Take Cost made a grinding cost and simply missed. Mucho Macho Man gained the three-way picture end by a nostril over Will Take Cost with Declaration of Struggle one other head again in third. 

For Stevens it was “like a fairy story. A dream come true. It was a pure celebration. I don’t know if I ever felt that outdoors of successful the Kentucky Derby.” Stevens has gained the Kentucky Derby 3 times: Successful Colours (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), and Silver Attraction (1997).

This fulfilled one among Steven’s objectives to win the Breeders’ Cup Traditional. He gained his first Breeders’ Cup race in 1990 aboard Within the Wings within the Turf, and this was unfinished enterprise when he retired. “This was an amazing expertise to win this race at my age (50). I by no means anticipated to be on this state of affairs. That is the final word feeling. It’s the icing on the cake of my profession.”

Kathy Ritvo ran onto the monitor to fulfill Stevens and Mucho Macho Man. “I put my hand on my coronary heart because it was beating so onerous. Then I put my hand on Mucho’s chest and our hearts have been beating so onerous collectively. I assumed that this was the best way it was alleged to be. His coronary heart was beating the identical and as onerous as mine. It was wonderful.”

For Dean and Patti Reeves and Mucho’s connections, the race was about redemption after dropping the Traditional in 2012. Reeves stated within the winner’s circle “Mucho Macho Man is a champion! Kathy Ritvo is a champion! Finn Inexperienced is the best racing supervisor you would have! I’m thrilled for the followers and for Mucho Macho Man!” 

Reeves stated concerning Will Take Cost’s late surge, “I actually thought he received us to be trustworthy. It was scary. However Mucho held on. There’s no denying him now. He’s gained the Breeders’ Cup Traditional.”

Reeves displays with delight. “That race places chills by me irrespective of when, or the place I watch it. It’s been 10 years. It’s so thrilling. It’s prefer it was yesterday after I sit and watch it. It simply runs up by my backbone. I already know we gained! And I’m nonetheless in a sweat!”

That’s the mystique and glory of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships the place champions rise above champions. A 3-way picture end and a lifetime of reminiscences for the jockey, the coach, the connections, and the followers. Mucho Macho Man earned his rightful place in racing historical past as a result of he and people who love him wouldn’t hand over!