Macho Again |
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| Reed Palmer | |
2008 Prep Recap
| Date | Trk | Race | Chart | Distance | Time | BSF | Video |
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| 3/22 | TP | Lane's End (G2) | Chart | 1 1/8m | 1:50:1 | 71 |  |
| 4/26 | CD | Derby Trial | Chart | 1 m | 1:28 | 99 | |
| 5/17 | PIM | Preakness Stakes (G1) | Chart | 1 3/6 m | 1:54 | 92 | |
Pedigree Profile (by Frank Mitchell)
Pedigree: His grandsire Holy Bull was a top-class 2-year-old who matured to become Horse of the Year at 3, defeating older horses in the Metropolitan Handicap and Woodward, as well as winning the Travers, Haskell, and Florida Derby.
In addition to his outstanding race record, Holy Bull has proven a powerful success at stud, siring Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and champion juvenile Macho Uno, the sire of Macho Again. Macho Uno, a half-brother to major sire Awesome Again, is helping to make Holy Bull a successful sire of stallions.
And Macho Uno’s son Macho Again is out of Go Donna Go, a daughter of Wild Again, who won the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Racing Type: The best horses in this pedigree won at distances up to 10 furlongs. A colt who is rapidly improving, Macho Again won the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs and then improved further to finish second to Big Brown in the Preakness.
This colt does not have to progress much to be a greater threat to win.
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Owners: West Point Thoroughbreds |
Analysis (by Jim Kachulis)
Strengths: If you disregard his races on Polytrack, Macho Again is an extremely consistent performer and an ever-improving one. There are superior bloodlines in the family tree, including a Horse of the Year, Holy Bull (who was 5 for 5 over the Belmont surface, including a score in the Metropolitan Handicap), and Wild Again, winner of the first Breeders’ Cup Classic. This gray has improved dramatically since the flop in the Grade 2 Lane’s End back in March, and his Preakness placing featured a professional rally where he finished strong past the wire. The classic 1/2-mile distance should suit his style.
Weaknesses: He is still in search of his first graded stakes victory, and although the demanding distance should be within his reach, Macho Again is mostly a one-run horse who might be hindered by an ordinary pace. The inexperience over the Belmont soil is another drawback as to his chances.
Strategy: Macho Again will have to try to stay closer to the pace than usual and will have to be cut loose way before the half-mile pole (the point in both the Derby and the Preakness where Big Brown hit his sudden top gear). The switch to jockey Garrett Gomez, an expert on pace, is a big plus and can prove key.
Value: Many bettors react negatively when a longshot finishes second in a Grade 1 and tend to dismiss the horse’s chances in the next effort against similar company. That may be the case here, as Macho Again’s late burst in the Preakness will be criticized because Big Brown was being geared down in the final stages of the race. Still, he warrants some play in the superfecta frame (especially if he is over 10-1) because of his vast improvement since his juvenile season and the world-class jockey in the irons.