He briefly seemed to be in deep water, but 'TDN Rising Star' Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) found another gear when he needed it to take Del Mar's GIII Bob Hope S. by 1 1/2 lengths Saturday. Favored at 4-5 for the powerful Bob Baffert barn off a four-length score at Los Alamitos Sept. 20, the $625,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic acquisition (:21 1/5was bumped at the start, but soon recovered to grab the lead through an opening quarter in :22.36. They were stacked three across the track at the top of the stretch and Mucho Gusto looked to have his work cut out for him, but he battled on gamely after a few cracks of the whip to become the first stakes winner for his freshman sire (by Macho Uno). Savagery (Bellamy Road) was second; Sparky Ville (Candy Ride {Arg}) was third. Two-time Triple Crown-winning Baffert further flexed the depth of his stable earlier on the card when he unveiled the much-hyped Coliseum (Tapit) to a 'Rising Star'-garnering performance in 1:23.13, compared to the 1:23.51 Mucho Gusto covered the same seven panels in.
Saturday, Del Mar
BOB HOPE S.-GIII, $100,000, Del Mar, 11-17, 2yo, 7f, 1:23.51, ft.
1–MUCHO GUSTO, 118, c, 2, by Mucho Macho Man
1st Dam: Itsagiantcauseway, by Giant's Causeway
2nd Dam: Countervail, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Strike a Balance, by Green Dancer
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($14,000 Ylg
'17 KEEJAN; $95,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP; $55,000 RNA 2yo '18
OBSMAR; $625,000 2yo '18 EASMAY). O-Michael Lund
Petersen; B-Teneri Farm Inc. & Bernardo Alvarez Calderon
(KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Joseph Talamo. $60,000. Lifetime
Record: 2-2-0-0, $84,000. *1st stakes winner for freshman sire
(by Macho Uno). Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Savagery, 118, c, 2, Bellamy Road–Successful Katie, by
Successful Appeal. ($7,500 RNA Ylg '17 OBSWIN; $100,000 2yo
'18 OBSAPR). O-Rockingham Ranch; B-Ponder Hill, Inc. (KY);
T-Peter Miller. $20,000.
3–Sparky Ville, 120, g, 2, Candy Ride (Arg)&log=">Candy Ride (Arg)–Lorelei K, by Storm
Cat. ($170,000 RNA Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Del Secco DCS Racing;
B-Aaron & Marie Jones LLC (KY); T-Jeff Bonde. $12,000.
Margins: 1HF, HD, 3/4. Odds: 0.80, 7.40, 2.80.
Also Ran: Extra Hope, Owning. Scratched: Metropol, Sueno.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
“I've been very excited to ride this horse. And after this race, I'd say I'm really impressed with him,” winning rider Joe Talamo said. “We got sandwiched coming away from there, but he went on about his business. He ran well throughout; he was well within himself, with his ears up. When a horse would come to him, he'd pick it back up again. He's trained well right from the start and he's showing his stuff in the afternoons.”
Baffert added, “I lost time when he got sick and this was a good race for him. He's a pretty cool horse; there's nothing flashy about him, but he gets the job done. They went fast early, but when they came to him, he re-broke like the good ones do. I was with my assistant and I said, 'Here's when you find out what they're made of.'”
Pedigree Notes:
Mucho Gusto is the first stakes and graded stakes winner for Mucho Macho Man, but he isn't the GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero's only 'TDN Rising Star'–$575,000 OBSMAR juvenile Fortin Hill garnered that distinction Oct. 12 at Belmont. He hails from a deep extended females that includes the likes of Canadian Horse of the Year and MGISW Peaks and Valleys (Mt. Livermore), young sire and 'Rising Star' Alternation (Distorted Humor), Broken Vow (Unbridled), champion grass mare Forever Together (Belong to Me), et al.
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