Naughty Rascal in Good Form for $165,000 Mucho Macho Man
At 2h06, on January 2, 2025 • By Gulfstream
Mr Pug and JPG 2’s Naughty Rascal, a three-time juvenile winner including stakes on both the turf and dirt, looks to carry that momentum into 2025 in Saturday’s $165,000 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park.
The 14th running of the Mucho Macho Man for newly turned 3-year-olds going one mile is the co-headliner on an 11-race program along with the $165,000 Ginger Brew for 3-year-old fillies scheduled for one mile on the grass. First race post time is 12:20 p.m.
Named for the Florida-bred earner of more than $5.6 million lifetime that made Gulfstream-based trainer Kathy Ritvo the first woman to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in 2013, the Mucho Macho Man is the first step for sophomores on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 29.
Based at Tampa Bay Downs with trainer Gerald Bennett, a career winner of more than 4,100 races, Naughty Rascal made four of his five 2-year-old starts at Gulfstream, three of them wins, including the six-furlong Proud Man in August and one-mile Armed Forces Nov. 2 on the turf.
Naughty Rascal also broke his maiden in debut against fellow Florida-breds July 21 and was third after a troubled start in September’s one-mile Aventura breaking from Post 8, the same position he drew in the Mucho Macho Man.
