Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Team One Racing’s Mucho
Macho Man, hero of Fair Grounds’ Grade II Risen Star Stakes on Louisiana
Derby Preview Day, breezed a half-mile in 48.50 at Gulfstream
Park on Saturday while readying for
his upcoming engagement in the $1 million Louisiana
Derby March 26 at the Crescent City oval.
“It was a just a light work for him,” said Dean Reeves,
one of the principal owners, when speaking over the phone from South Florida later
Saturday morning. “This horse is doing just fabulous right now and we’re all
looking forward to coming back to New
Orleans. Everyone treated us
really well last month and it was a wonderful experience for us. We’ll all be
rolling in the Wednesday before the Louisiana Derby and be back at the barn with
the horse.
“The Louisiana Derby is a great venue,” Reeves said, “and
one of the reasons we wanted to bring the horse back to Fair Grounds is that
when horses all turn for home over that track it’s still a long way to the
finish line. I think from a mental standpoint of the horse it’s a good thing to
get him used to that because of the long stretch run at Churchill Downs for the
Kentucky Derby.”
Mucho Macho Man, of course, remains one of the top “feel
good” pre-Triple Crown stories this winter because of his charming trainer, Kathy
Ritvo, who underwent successful heart transplant surgery in November of
2008 and has been blessed so far with excellent health during her recovery.
However, a storm cloud shadow fell on the Mucho Macho Man
team less than 24 hours prior to the Risen Star when regular rider Eibar Coa
suffered paralyzing injuries in a spill at Gulfstream, leaving the son of Macho
Uno to go on to win the Louisiana Derby prep with jockey Rajiv Maragh
deputizing for his fallen peer.
But last Friday Reeves visited Coa in the hospital where
the rider has already undergone two additional surgeries and presented with him
a check for $18,000 – the equivalent of the winning rider’s share of the Risen
Star purse of $300,000.
“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,”
said Reeves. “Eibar has been an important part of our team since the beginning.
I remember after he got off the horse the first time he ever worked him he
said, ‘This is going to be the horse that takes me to the Kentucky Derby.’ I
know what the horse means to Eibar. Now he’s going to be our biggest
cheerleader, and now he’s rooting for Rajiv and Rajiv is rooting for him.
“I was amazed how much better Eibar looked after only a
week,” said Reeves of their Friday meeting. “I didn’t really know what to
expect but I was pleasantly surprised. His color was good, his spirit was good
and he seemed deeply appreciative of our visit. We brought him a copy of The
Blood-Horse with Mucho Macho Man on the cover and he seemed to enjoy that,
too.
“Most of all, I could watch him move his left arm a little
and I could see decent movement out of his left leg,” said Reeves. “His right
leg was a little weaker, but I could see the muscles around his knee twitching
when he tried to move it and I think that’s a very good sign. I always try to
think positive thoughts and with that in mind I’m going to say that I think
he’s going to walk again. I don’t know how long that may take, but I think it’s
going to happen.
“It turned about to be a very emotional visit,” Reeves
concluded of the Friday meeting. “Eibar had tears in his eyes and I know I had
tears in mine. I tend to be a very emotional person, anyway. I usually end up
crying at weddings and sometimes that’s for people I don’t even know.”