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Mucho Macho Man’s story almost beyond belief

Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 1:36 PM

MUCHO MACHO MAN

Lou Hodges Jr. photo

by Mike Curry

The euphoria bursting from the Risen Star Stakes (G2) winner’s circle was exactly what Jim Culver, Ph.D., had in mind when he started Dream Team Racing Stable in 2006.

Thoroughbred horse racing’s incredibly powerful allure is rooted in the ‘shoot for the stars’ vision that, unlike most other sports, can become a reality for the average person.

Risen Star Stakes winner Mucho Macho Man is an ideal flag bearer for that vision of dancing on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) trail, not only for Culver, but also for Dream Team Vice President Kostas Hatzikoutelis, breeders J.D. and Carole Rio, and the Dream Team investors who bought a share of the Macho Uno colt just to get a taste of the thrill of horse racing.

“We’ve got thousands of pictures and the smiles on their faces are indescribable. You have to understand some of the partners that came on initially from day one when we offered the horse, they came on for $800 a share. One percent of the horse was for $800 and now they are living their dream,” Hatzikoutelis said. “This is why they’ve gotten into the horse ownership part, and it just goes back to what we want to do and the experiences we want to have together. Jim and I laugh about it all the time, the great friendships that have developed because of this guy. It’s pretty humbling.”

Mucho Macho Man is set to make his next start in the Louisiana Derby (G2) on Saturday at Fair Grounds. He already has wrapped up a starting spot in the Kentucky Derby with $270,000 in graded stakes earnings, but he could stamp himself one of the favorites with a big performance in his final classic prep, which just so happens to be at the scene of his most significant victory.

“It’s beyond our wildest imagination,” said Culver, 49. “I wanted to get it to this level, and I’m just thrilled to finally get there.”

As with most three-year-olds, the path to the first Saturday in May is wrought with pitfalls and obstacles and, with Mucho Macho Man, that was the case almost from the start.

Frightening beginning

Culver got into the Thoroughbred business about ten years ago and two of the first friends he made were Ocala breeders J.D. and Carole Rio—J.D., a former jockey and Carole, who has been involved with horses for her entire life.

“I’ve known them for as long as I’ve been in the business, a little over ten years,” Culver said. “We pinhooked some for a while, we did some breeding; they train all of our horses.”

Carole Rio vividly recalled the day Mucho Macho Man was born and the fact that he took his first step was the longest of longshots itself.

"It was going on three weeks where she was overdue to foal," Carole Rio said of Mucho Macho Man's dam, Ponche de Leona, by Ponche. "I was on my way back to the farm during that day at approximately 3:27 when I received a call from Jeff, the farm manager, saying that the mare was about to foal. She was laying down and was about to foal, and I said, 'I'm about two to three minutes away from the farm. I'll be there shortly.' I pulled in, the foal was born already. Jeff and his wife were in the field with the foal and they said they believed he was dead.

"I went over there and he was lifeless. I worked on the foal to see if I could revive him. My husband was there and my daughter was there. It was June 15, Father's Day. We prayed over him. We thought he was a dead foal, and he stood up and ran off. He ran off. The farm manager's wife said, 'You ought to name him Lazarus.' That's what he was called, up until he left for [trainer] Bill White."

Carole Rio described the strapping colt as a pleasure to be around on her farm, and said what separates him from some of the other horses she has been around is his mind.

"I think it was that he had such a good mind on him, and he was so trusting of humans from day one. I find the half sister that I have [by Chestertown Slew] this year is the same way," she said. "They just take to people right away. They're very pleasurable to be around; very, very smart.

"He was always tall; he was always a tall, gangly horse," Carole Rio continued. "He kept normal weight, but you always kept saying, 'I'd like to see another 50 or 100 pounds on this horse,' but he would just keep growing up. He was just a pleasure to be around because he never did anything wrong. He was a very quiet horse, a sensible horse. The only thing that bothered him was the wash rack. He never wanted to go into the wash rack. Until the day he left, I had to back him into the wash rack. I don't know if he didn't like the rubber mat or what it was, but he didn't like the wash rack. And he didn't like the soap, he would always look at the soap and it took him a couple of months to get used to that."

The Rios kept Culver posted on his progress and sent him pictures. The match with Dream Team became a reality in October 2009, when Culver and the Rios settled on a price for the colt, subsequently named Mucho Macho Man.

Encouraging debut

The connections of Dream Team, including original trainer Bill White, liked what they saw from the start with Mucho Macho Man, and his second-place finish in a six-furlong race at Calder Race Course supported their expectations. That race also led to interest from other owners, but Dream Team was determined to stay along for the ride.

“One thing that we wanted to ensure was that we stayed in the game with this guy, having an opportunity to be a part of wherever he was going to take us,” said Hatzikoutelis, 46. “One of the neat things about our syndication model is that we want our partners to have a positive return on investment and provide them an opportunity to do that. Jim managed the whole process with the different suitors and we talked within the partnership and came to the resolution, and I think it was a pretty good majority that wanted to sell.”

Dream Team made the decision to sell a majority interest in Mucho Macho Man to Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.

“We had several different offers come in from several different entities, and his ended up being the best one,” Culver said. “We wanted to take some profit, because the offer was substantial at the time. We were thrilled to be able to take some profit but still keep 30% of him.”

Still developing

Mucho Macho Man had shown plenty of promise in his debut, but his second start was a reminder that this was a big colt and a mid-June foal who had plenty of maturing to do, both mentally and physically. He finished third in a seven-furlong maiden special weight race at Saratoga Race Course in his first start for the Reeves and new trainer Tim Ritvo.

“We sold him and then shipped him up to Saratoga with a very quick turnaround to get him in a race there,” Hatzikoutelis said. “We were disappointed not so much in Mucho Macho Man, because he has never had a bad race in our eyes. He gives a great effort every time. But that race was kind of key for us because we were eager to give Mr. Reeves the chance to recoup his money. … That was a little bit of disappointment, but we knew we were on the right path.”

Indeed, Mucho Macho Man won his third start by four lengths before closing out the season with runner-up finishes to highly regarded To Honor and Serve in the one-mile Nashua (G2) and 1 1/16-mile Remsen (G2) Stakes, both at Aqueduct. His fast-closing second by two lengths in the Remsen was an eye-opener for Dream Team.

“I can remember right after the race when we all went out to dinner, and I was kind of quiet. And Kostas said to me, ‘Why are you so quiet?’ I said, ‘Because the reality just hit me that we not only have a really good shot to make the Derby, we have a really good shot to win the Derby.’ And then we all kind of got quiet.”

Courage, tragedy, and triumph

In the two months that followed the Remsen, the connections of Mucho Macho Man got plenty of attention.

The colt had been transferred from Tim Ritvo, vice president of racing for MI Developments Inc., to his wife, Kathy Ritvo, before the 2010 Nashua, and she provided a heart-warming aspect to Mucho Macho Man’s story. She nearly died from cardiomyopathy, a deterioration of the heart muscle, in 2008, but a transplant saved her life. The tough trainer’s comeback story combined with the Macho Uno colt’s burgeoning potential made Mucho Macho Man the big winter story in Florida.

Kathy Ritvo and the owners mapped out a plan for Mucho Macho Man that started with the Holy Bull Stakes (G3), a race they thought might be too short for him. He set a torrid pace in the one-turn mile race and held on gamely in the stretch but finished fourth.

“We bought into the hype. We got so caught up in the media frenzy and the circus that was around it, obviously with Kathy and Tim Ritvo and their relationship with Gulfstream and everything just escalated prematurely,” Hatzikoutelis said. “Looking back at it, we’re glad it happened then and not now. I think everybody is kind of grounded and realistic of what the expectations are, and we take it one day at a time.”

The Holy Bull turned out to be just a speed bump on the Derby trail for Mucho Macho Man, but his regular rider, Eibar Coa, was not so lucky. Coa fractured the C4 vertebra in his spine in a frightening spill on February 18 at Gulfstream Park, one day before the Risen Star. He subsequently has undergone several surgeries for injuries from that spill, which also included a broken wrist. Coa has regained some movement in his arms and legs and has relocated to a rehabilitation facility.

With new rider Rajiv Maragh aboard, Mucho Macho Man stormed to a 1 1/2-length victory from just off the pace in the Risen Star. The following Thursday, the Reeves went to Memorial East Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, and gave Coa a check for $18,000, which would have been his winner’s share for winning the Risen Star had he been able to ride.

“You know, right after that race, I talked about that idea with my wife, Patti, and we both agreed it was the right thing to do,” Reeves said. “Eibar has been an important part of our team since the beginning.”

Mucho Macho Man is the 9-to-5 morning-line favorite for the Louisiana Derby. His Risen Star victory confirmed what Culver and Hatzikoutelis believed all along, that Mucho Macho Man really would relish stretching out in distance and improve dramatically as he matured and caught up to his older peers.

“Every time he runs a mile, he runs like an 89 Beyer [speed figure],” Culver said about his aptitude when stretching out. “Every time he runs a mile and a sixteenth, it’s a 95 Beyer; when he runs a mile and an eighth, it’s a 99 Beyer. We think when he runs a mile and a quarter, he’ll run a 110 Beyer. We think he’s going to run huge in the Kentucky Derby. I just think he’s going to relish the pace and the extra distance.”

Foundation for success

Culver has been a lifelong horse racing fan and Hatzikoutelis developed a passion for racing as a child, fueled by trips with his father, Steve, to Penn National Race Course. Their love of the game brought them together.

“We love the sport and we’ve enjoyed getting involved with other syndication groups,” said Hatzikoutelis, who lives in Atlanta with his wife of 20 years, Donna, and their three children. “One of my searches came across Jim. I purchased some shares of different horses, and the relationship just grew.

“He’s like a brother that I never had and vice-versa. We’ve got a great relationship. We promised each other that whatever we share, we want to extend these feelings and positive experiences to our partners because we were those guys just five or ten years ago.”

Culver oversees the stable’s operations and, along with his team, selects the horses for syndication. Hatzikoutelis handles client relations as well as sales and marketing. Both view their partnership as an outstanding match.

Dream Team looks for Thoroughbreds in the $50,000 to $80,000 range because it gives them an opportunity to find quality horses but still presents Dream Team investors a chance to make a profit. Culver estimates that he picks out about half of the stable’s horses right off the farm and the other half from auctions. Culver plucked two horses from the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale of selected two-year-olds in training.

Culver said he tries to identify prospects early and then visits farms every three months or so to check on their progress.

“I do have a pretty good eye. I’m not saying I’m perfect and I don’t make mistakes, but I do have a good team around me. We all investigate horses thoroughly,” said Culver, who lives in North Carolina with his wife, Mary, and four children (two each from previous marriages).

“I was buying pretty inexpensive horses for the first few years of Dream Team, and we were doing okay. We had a couple of horses that had three wins each, but I thought for a little more money we could buy nicer horses, and I kind of got tired of looking at the ones that I wanted to buy and watching what they did over the next few years because I couldn’t afford them. Watching them succeed and thinking, ‘Jeez, I’ve got to get more partners with more money.’ And Kostas brought a lot of that to the table. He had lots of friends in business. The truth is that if Kostas didn’t come along, we probably wouldn’t have bought Mucho Macho Man.”

On Saturday at Fair Grounds, Mucho Macho Man will carry the hopes of many into the Louisiana Derby, including his tough trainer, his injured regular rider, Dean and Patti Reeves, and everyone at Dream Team. The Kentucky Derby is in sight and Mucho Macho Man’s connections are savoring the ride.

“About eight years ago, I met Fred Hooper from Ocala, Florida. Fred won the Kentucky Derby in the 1940s with a horse named Hoop, Jr.,” Culver said. “It was the very first horse he ever owned and he won the [1945] Kentucky Derby with him. Fred was pretty elderly then and he told me, ‘If you ever make it to the Derby, appreciate it, because when I got there I didn’t appreciate it. I thought I was going to do this every year after my first horse won first time out. And I’ve been trying for 50 years to get back there and I never made it.’ I think of Fred’s words quite often.”

Mike Curry is a THOROUGHBRED TIMES TODAY editor