Mucho Macho Man, Jackson Bend and Tackleberry declared as the three local favourites to win the Gulfstream Park Handicap at Gulfstream Park
The key factor to determine a race favourite is to take a glance over the runner’s past performances, and when handicappers look at the runners’ stats participating in the Grade 2, $300,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap, they will take special note of Mucho Macho
Man’s victory in the $400,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Classic.
The Sunshine Millions Classic was a race packed with experienced and professional runners, and Mucho Macho Man’s dominant performance became even more notable when the runner-up of the Sunshine Millions Classic, Ron the Greek, went on to capture the Grade
1 Santa Anita Handicap recently.
Sent at 8 to 5 for the Gulfstream Park Handicap, Mucho Macho Man since finishing a troubled seventh in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes at about 1 ½ miles last year, returned after five months to win an allowance/optional claimer at about a mile at Aqueduct to
cap off a reasonably well run 2011 season.
The Florida bred son of Macho Uno is trained by Katherine Ritvo for owners Dream Team One Racing Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. Out of mare Ponche De Leona by Ponche, Mucho Macho Man was one of three horses to participate in all the three legs of
the Triple Crown last year.
He finished a strong third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby to winner, Animal Kingdom, and then finished sixth in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico to Shackleford.
The 5-year-old Nicholas P. Zito trained horse, Jackson Bend, also went on to win his seasonal debut in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope Stakes, where he got stretched out in distance from the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint’s 6 furlongs to 1 mile in the Hal’s Hope.
With the stellar previous season, and a promising to start to this one, Jackson Bend, will be sent at 2 to 1 for the Gulfstream Park Handicap.
Fan favourite, Tackleberry, will be defending his title in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap, and the Luis Olivares trained and owned 5-year-old will be making his seasonal debut in the Gulfstream Park Handicap, which is why the horse is considered as
the third choice with the odds of 4 to 1 coupled with jockey Rajiv Maragh.
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