Belmont Park: Mucho Macho Man sizzles in four-furlong drill

Bob Coglianese

Mucho Macho Man is being prepared for a possible start in the Suburban at Belmont Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Kathy Ritvo had two horses to run on Friday’s card at Belmont Park. But she shipped three down from her base at Saratoga.

One of the three was Mucho Macho Man, who breezed four furlongs in 46.75 seconds Friday morning over the Belmont training track. It was the fastest by one full second of 29 moves at the distance.

It was Mucho Macho Man’s first breeze since he finished third to Successful Dan in the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 4. The loss ended a three-race winning streak for Mucho Macho Man that included the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap.

Shortly after the Alysheba, Mucho Macho Man was shipped to Saratoga, where he has been galloping two miles over the Oklahoma training track on a frequent basis.

“He’s not a horse you have to work a lot,” Ritvo said. “That went perfectly. He went off easy and finished great.”

Ritvo said that the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park on July 7 is a possibility for Mucho Macho Man’s next start.

Among those pointing to the Suburban are Flat Out and Hymn Book – the 1-2 finishers from last year’s Suburban – Travers winner Stay Thirsty and Trickmeister, who just defeated Stay Thirsty in an overnight stakes at Belmont last month.

“We didn’t make any definite plans,” said Ritvo, who trains Mucho Macho Man for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Team One Racing. “We’ll get together in the next couple of days and decide what to do.”

Ritvo said Mucho Macho Man was to ship back to Saratoga later Friday along with her runners Arthur, who finished third in the fourth, and Orsonian, who was scheduled to run in the ninth.

As a 3-year-old, Mucho Macho Man was one of three horses to compete in all three Triple Crown races, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.