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Mucho Macho Man, the third-place finisher in the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), drilled a half-mile in :49 1/5 over a sloppy Belmont Park training track May 17. He figures to be a presence in the second leg of the Triple Crown in the May 21 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico.
The 3-year-old son of Macho Uno was timed in early splits of :12 2/5 and 24 1/5, and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03 3/5. Regular rider Rajiv Maragh was aboard.
“He went really well and if the track comes up sloppy in Baltimore, it won’t hurt him at all,” said trainer Kathy Ritvo after the work. “He’s feeling really good. We really needed to get a work into him.”
“He went evenly all the way,” Maragh said. “He felt really aggressive like he wanted to do more.
Mucho Macho Man races for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Team Racing Stable. Bred in Florida by John and Carole Rio, he is out of the Ponche mare Ponche de Leona.
Earlier in the year he won the Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) and ran third, beaten three-quarters of a length, in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II). Both preps were at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. In the Kentucky Derby he rallied for third behind Animal Kingdom and Nehro after being in mid-pack early on.
“He came out of the Derby in great shape,” Ritvo said. “He really seems to be improving and getting better.”
