During this year’s NBC Breeders’ Cup World Championship coverage, reporter Kenny Rice reminisced about his favorite Breeders’ Cup Classic win in 2013. “Ten years ago, there was a moment that was right out of Hollywood. The trainer was little known. Her name Kathy Ritvo. She was a heart transplant recipient. The jockey was known. He was a Hall of Famer, but he had bad knees and he had been retired for seven years. But Gary Stevens came back and got in the saddle. And the horse? Mucho Macho Man!”

Mucho Macho Man was owned by a syndicate involving Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Team One Racing Stables. Primary owner Dean Reeves remembers the first time he laid eyes on “Mucho.” He had shipped to Saratoga and was going to race in a maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds. “I noticed how tall he was in the stall. They had removed a section in the stall to give him more room because he kept hitting his head. When they brought him out, I was like ‘WOW!’ ”

Dean and Patti Reeves at 2014 Breeders' Cup. (Julie June Stewart photo)

He was impressive. He had run in 22 races including the 2011 Triple Crown Races — third in the Kentucky Derby, sixth in the Preakness Stakes, and seventh in the Belmont Stakes. Winning races included the 2012 Florida Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes, the 2012 Gulfstream Park Handicap, and the 2012 Suburban Handicap at Belmont.

But the race that really stung was the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic in which he came in second by half a length. He really tried and had drawn up alongside the winner Fort Larned midstretch and gamely dueled. It was a difficult defeat.

His connections persevered during the next year as they carefully planned his campaign to return for the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Trainer Kathy Ritvo put her heart and soul into making sure that Mucho was going to be at the top of his game. Originally, jockey Edgar Prado had the call, but he was committed to another horse. After consulting with the Reeves, Ritvo reached out to Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens to see if he would be interested in riding Mucho Macho Man in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita in September. Stevens had come out of retirement in January 2013. He rode Oxbow to a sixth-place that spring in the Kentucky Derby and then guided him to an unforgettable upset win in the Preakness Stakes. 

Ritvo and her racing team brought Mucho Macho Man to Santa Anita early to acclimate him to the track. Stevens was studying Mucho’s previous races. He was well-prepared for the Awesome Again Stakes when they kicked clear and proved they were the best against Paynter and Soi Phet.

The Reeves being interviewed at 2013 Breeders’ Cup. (Julie June Stewart photo)

Now it was onto the Breeders’ Cup Classic! The competition included defending Classic winner Fort Larned, Declaration of War, Todd Pletcher’s Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice, and Bob Baffert’s Game On Dude and Paynter. Ritvo kept Mucho sequestered on the backside. She explained “He was kind of shy when people came to him. If he was outside the barn, he wanted to be seen and admired. But when we were in the stall, he just needed his time. That’s how he was comfortable.” He was a ham when he was outside. He would stop so people could take photos of him. Once again, due to his size, Ritvo had a wall removed so he could sleep comfortably in a double stall. 

Reeves remembers going to pet him on the forehead and, “he almost ripped my arm off! He was so mentally focused on that race! I liked how Kathy kept him sequestered to keep him calm. She knew that horse inside and out. It is fascinating to look back at their connection.”

On the walk over for the $5 million race, Ritvo said everything was quiet. “He was a calm, professional horse, and he was perfect.”  

Stevens was ready and had spent a lot of time in the barn. Stevens had noted that Mucho would sulk if the whip was used. They decided to not use it and flag him if necessary. 

He had plenty of confidence as he had won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Beholder the day before. As he was standing outside the jockey’s room, he was met by Reeves racing manager Finn Green. Stevens remembers that Green pointed to the clock above the door and said, “In 18 minutes, our lives are about to change forever.” It was a powerful omen.  

They had a “good, clean break” according to Stevens. “He was super sharp! He left there like a Quarter Horse and outbroke them. I could have put him on the lead. He’s so push-button. He was very fluid. I had a feeling that he would fight, and I wanted to save that.

“I let him roll away from there for a sixteenth of a mile. Moreno came up on the inside and Game on Dude on the outside and Fort Larned. I just slid my hands back a little bit, and he shut it down. It's exactly what I wanted him to do. I looked back to see where Will Take Charge was going into the first turn. I didn't want anybody on the outside of him.

Mucho Macho Man powers to victory in 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic. (Eclipse Sportswire)

“He's a big, long-striding horse, and he was powerful down the back side. He was pretty aggressive. Not rank at all but giving me a feel different than what I had in the Awesome Again. We rolled into the turn, and I knew that I had Game On Dude anytime I wanted him.”

As planned, Stevens only showed Mucho the whip. “He gave me everything that he had. Inside the sixteenth pole, I twirled my whip and didn't hit him with it. He surged again. It was like oh, ‘thank you, buddy! You're not going to hit me!’ He's a very intelligent horse. We came into the stretch, and he was giving me a great feel. All of a sudden in the last hundred yards, I was being attacked from all sides. He seemed like he wanted it as much as I did. I started asking him for his best. The harder I rode, the more he kept grinding. The final strides, he just wouldn’t give up. It was a great moment and a great field. It was a close photo.”

Stevens was highly aware of Will Take Charge’s position. “I knew who it was and how hard he fights!” Will Take Charge made a grinding charge and just missed. Mucho Macho Man won the three-way photo finish by a nose over Will Take Charge with Declaration of War another head back in third. 

For Stevens it was “like a fairy tale. A dream come true. It was a pure celebration. I don’t know if I ever felt that outside of winning the Kentucky Derby.” Stevens has won the Kentucky Derby three times: Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), and Silver Charm (1997).

This fulfilled one of Steven’s goals to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He won his first Breeders’ Cup race in 1990 aboard In the Wings in the Turf, and this was unfinished business when he retired. “This was a tremendous experience to win this race at my age (50). I never expected to be in this situation. This is the ultimate feeling. It’s the icing on the cake of my career.”

Kathy Ritvo ran onto the track to meet Stevens and Mucho Macho Man. “I put my hand on my heart as it was beating so hard. Then I put my hand on Mucho’s chest and our hearts were beating so hard together. I thought that this was the way it was supposed to be. His heart was beating the same and as hard as mine. It was amazing.”

Mucho Macho Man by a nose over Will Take Charge. (Courtesy of Santa Anita Park)

For Dean and Patti Reeves and Mucho’s connections, the race was about redemption after losing the Classic in 2012. Reeves said in the winner’s circle “Mucho Macho Man is a champion! Kathy Ritvo is a champion! Finn Green is the greatest racing manager you could have! I’m thrilled for the fans and for Mucho Macho Man!” 

Reeves said regarding Will Take Charge’s late surge, “I really thought he got us to be honest. It was scary. But Mucho hung on. There’s no denying him now. He’s won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.”

Reeves reflects with pride. “That race puts chills through me no matter when, or where I watch it. It’s been 10 years. It is so thrilling. It’s like it was yesterday when I sit and watch it. It just runs up through my spine. I already know we won! And I’m still in a sweat!”

That is the mystique and glory of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships where champions rise above champions. A three-way photo finish and a lifetime of memories for the jockey, the trainer, the connections, and the fans. Mucho Macho Man earned his rightful place in racing history because he and those who love him would not give up!