The Classic Exacta Required "Just a Little Patience"

Precocity has its merit.  We saw that earlier today when Havana and Strong Mandate, who exited the Champagne Stakes first and second, held on well to complete the trifecta behind New Year's Day in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.  Two year-old winning colts are touted as prime stallion prospects and made early favorites for the Kentucky Derby.  Sometimes they deliver, sometimes they fade from the radar.  At the end of the day, precocity is still celebrated in America.

But today's Breeders' Cup Classic was not a celebration of precocity.  It set the stage for two late bloomers to give us the greatest performance of their lives. 

Mucho Macho Man was a very late foal, not coming into this world until mid-June of 2008.  By that time, many foals were going on three or four months and beginning to become independent from their dams.  The bay son of Macho Uno took a while to grow, developing into a tall, almost gangly colt with a sweet face.  He began to race in July of 2010, just a month after his biological second birthday.  It was "third time's the charm" for Mucho Macho Man; in his third start, he broke through with a win. 

After two stakes placings in 2010 and a fourth-place finish in the Holy Bull Stakes the next year, trainer Kathy Ritvo decided to place him in the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds, where he ended up winning as the third choice.  After a third-place finish in the Louisiana Derby behind Pants on Fire and Nehro, the colt was deemed well enough to run in the Kentucky Derby.

He was not yet three years old, and had only won twice in his life.  Raw talent, however, was good enough to give Mucho Macho Man a solid third place performance behind Animal Kingdom and Nehro.  But after off the board performances in both the Preakness and Belmont, confidence in the colt began to wane.

Many colts would have fallen off the map after lackluster performances at the highest levels.  But Ritvo had patience in her leggy bay Mucho Macho Man.  He returned to the races that November and won an allowance at Aqueduct by nearly six lengths.

This was a changed horse!  Mucho Macho Man had filled out a little more and, by the dawn of his four year-old season, he was ready to take on all comers in the older horse division.

He won the Sunshine Millions Classic in January of 2012, then came back a month and a half later to score in the Gulfstream Park Handicap.  Mucho Macho Man then finished a credible third behind Successful Dan and future rival Fort Larned before winning yet another big stakes in the Suburban Handicap.  After a valiant second to To Honor and Serve in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, Mucho Macho Man was entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic and finished better than all but one horse - Fort Larned, who was lose on the lead that day after a bad start from Game On Dude. 

His 2013 debut was not nearly as successful as his 2012 campaign had been.  The muddy track in the Sunshine Millions was not to his liking, and he pulled up in the middle of the race, not making it to the finish line.  It would be nearly five months before Mucho Macho Man would race again.

Many people would have retired their intact colts after they had proven so much on the track, keeping their stud credentials as pristine as they could.  But Mucho Macho Man's people had patience in him, and brought him back to the races in June of 2013.

He finished third in the Criminal Type Stakes, a performance that many called "dull".  It seemed as if the big bay was not as good as he used to be, and he was sent off as the third-to-last wagering choice in the Whitney Handicap.  Despite the naysayers, the five year-old stallion finished a very credible third behind front-running Cross Traffic and Successful Dan.  Mucho Macho Man even finished ahead of old nemesis Fort Larned, who did not break well that day.

His next start was the Awesome Again Stakes, and that day, veteran jockey Gary Stevens would get a leg up on the big bay.  It was the best thing that could have ever happened to Mucho Macho Man.   He romped in the Santa Anita stake by four and a half lengths, beating the popular Paynter and 2012 Travers winner Golden Ticket.  That win earned him an automatic berth into the Breeders' Cup Classic, with good old Gary Stevens aboard once again.

Mucho Macho Man would not be denied the Classic this time.  He took the lead near the top of the stretch and held off a late run from Will Take Charge.  Patience paid off.

And what of Will Take Charge?  Like Mucho Macho Man, he is a big colt that took a while to grow into himself.  On the Derby trail, he put in some impressive performances before taking quite a long layoff before the event.  Trainer Lukas gave him some time before the Derby to grow into himself.  After a troubled trip, Will Take Charge finished eighth, and subsequently off the board in the Preakness and Belmont - just like Mucho Macho Man.  His stablemate Oxbow outshone him by winning the Preakness.

Many colts would not return to the racetrack after so many heartbreaks, one after another.  But Lukas had patience in his gorgeous chestnut colt, and the colt returned to action in the Jim Dandy a month and a half after the Belmont, finishing a fast-closing second to Palace Malice.

He was a changed horse.  The summer had added luster to his coat and muscle definition to his already marvelous conformation.  He had grown up.  After that, Will Take Charge rattled off strong wins in the Travers Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby and entered the Breeders' Cup Classic as many people's choice to win.  And the rest is history - battling fellow late bloomer Mucho Macho Man down to the wire and losing by the merest sliver.  Another jump, perhaps, and the three year-old would have gotten the better of his rival. 

Winning multiple two year-old races or becoming the early favorite for the three year-old classics is precocity.  But precocity was not celebrated in this edition of the Breeders' Cup Classic.  It all came down to two horses who continued to race only through the persistence of their trainers.

As Guns 'N Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin famously penned, "All we need is just a little patience."