Mucho Gusto

It's Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s world and we're all just living in it. The 28-year-old from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico who has grown up into a superstar before the racing world's eyes continued his dominance in 2020, leading to a third consecutive Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. While his total earnings dipped over $10 million from his 2020 sum, that can be almost entirely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the cancellation of much of the racing calendar through March and April and dramatic purse cuts that plagued the...

Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man--Itsagiantcauseway, by Giant's Causeway), winner of last year's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, has been retired due to a soft-tissue injury, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert. "He came up with a minor soft tissue injury that will knock him out of the Pegasus and Saudi Cup," said Baffert. The trainer said that the issue had just arisen today and that no stallion deal had been discussed yet. The Pegasus was one of five graded races won by the 5-year-old chestnut, who also captured the GIII...

GI Pegasus World Cup S. victor Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) returns to action in Saturday's GII San Antonio S. after 10 months on the sidelines. A three-time graded winner as a sophomore last term, the $625,000 EASMAY buy hit the board in both the GI Haskell Invitational S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. last summer. Closing out 2019 with a fourth as the favorite in the GIII Oklahoma Derby last September, the 'TDN Rising Star' was privately purchased from Michael Lund Petersen by HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled with...

A total of 550 juveniles have been catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, June 29 and 30, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds at Timonium. Both sessions will begin at 11 a.m. ET. The online catalogue may be viewed here. Print catalogues will be available beginning June 8. Under-tack shows will take place Wednesday through Friday, June 24-26 and will kick off at 8 a.m. ET. "Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training has produced more Grade I winners than any other U.S. 2-year-old sale in...

Champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) took the lead in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 376 votes. The position was previously held by fellow champion Maximum Security (New Year's Day), who bested his female counterpart in the $20 million Saudi Cup Feb. 29. In the wake of the doping controversy, which involved Maximum Security's trainer Jason Servis, NTRA voers were given the opportunity to adjust their selections if they wanted. Maximum Security still received 241 votes, but dropped to fourth behind GI Pegasus World Cup victor Mucho Gusto (Mucho...

According to a report in the Racing Post, jockey Mike Smith has been given a nine-day suspension and fined more than $200,000 for excessive use of the whip aboard Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), the runner-up in Saturday's Saudi Cup. The fine is the largest ever handed down to a jockey for a riding infraction. Under Saudi racing rules covering the Feb. 28 and Feb. 29 cards, a jockey is permitted to strike a horse no more than 10 times. The stewards ruled that Smith struck Midnight Bisou 14 times. He...

A stellar group of international talent has been assembled for the inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup over 1800 meters at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh Saturday, with a quintet of impressive American contenders. Leading the American charge is Gary and Mary West's Maximum Security (New Year's Day). After infamously being disqualified from first in the GI Kentucky Derby last May, the bay colt redeemed his sophomore season with wins in the GI Haskell Invitational and GIII Bold Ruler H. before cementing an Eclipse championship with a win in the Dec. 7...

They traveled thousands of miles to get there, but the four main American contenders will all start within feet of each other in Saturday's inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh after post positions were drawn Wednesday evening in Saudi Arabia. Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's champion filly Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) will break from post six, while 2019 champion 3-year-old Maximum Security (New Year's Day) will break from post seven and Bob Baffert stablemates Mucho Gusto (Much Macho Man) and McKinzie (Street Sense)...

They traveled thousands of miles to get there, but the four main American contenders will all start within feet of each other in Saturday's inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh after post positions were drawn Wednesday evening in Saudi Arabia. Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's champion filly Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) will break from post six, while 2019 champion 3-year-old Maximum Security (New Year's Day) will break from post seven and Bob Baffert stablemates Mucho Gusto (Much Macho Man) and McKinzie (Street Sense)...

Live coverage of the inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup from the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia airs Saturday, Feb. 29 at noon Eastern on FS1. Featuring a strong U.S. presence with Maximum Security (New Year's Day), Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), McKinzie (Street Sense), Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) and Tacitus (Tapit) scheduled to compete, the nine-furlong event is the world's richest race. FOX Sports is the exclusive broadcast provider of The Saudi Cup in the United States, where the telecast will air from noon-1:00 p.m. Eastern with limited commercial...

Historians are most likely to agree that the 1850s were probably the true beginning of the immigration era in the United States. Not only was this the decade in which the Irish made their first forays to this these shores due to the potato famine, but also the Germans began to flock here to be followed by the Italians, Polish, Greeks, Hungarians-representing the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish religions. This went on to the 1920s when assimilation took hold and the modern American character was developed. Why bring this up? Well,...

The inaugural $29.2-million Saudi Cup card at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 29 drew 66 runners from overseas, including 21 Group/Grade 1 winners, HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, announced on Wednesday. The full list of runners for the eight-race Saturday card have won a combined 32 top-level races. Some of the big names in the $20-million Saudi Cup include:  recent GI Pegasus World Cup winner Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) who squares off with Bob Baffert stablemate and MGISW McKinzie...