SARATOGA SPRINGS — As rivalries go, To Honor and Serve and Mucho Macho Man are not up there with Affirmed and Alydar, or even Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. But those two 4-year-old colts, who began knocking heads when they were 2-year-olds, saved their best battle for Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward at the Old Spa.

The rivalry began with To Honor and Serve beating runner-up Mucho Macho Man in the Nashua and Remsen in the fall of 2010. But in their latest confrontation, Mucho Macho Man crushed the July 7 Suburban by 2½ lengths, with To Honor and Serve fourth as the 7-5 favorite, his second sub-par race in a row.

That’s why Mucho Macho Man, trained by heart-transplant survivor Kathy Ritvo, was favored in the Woodward at 4-5under Mike Smith, while To Honor and Serve, saddled by Hall-of-Famer Bill Mott, was 7-2. with John Velazquez replacing Jose Lezcano in the irons.

Rule cut out the early pace (23.70 and 47.45 seconds) pressed by Trickmeister, with To Honor and Serve tracking them outside, while Mucho Macho Man was tucked in behind the leaders. Around the turn, while still under a confident hold, To Honor and Serve ranged up to strike the front at the top of the stretch and edge clear.

That’s when the real running began, as To Honor and Serve was confronted by the late onslaught Mucho Macho Man. Digging in courageously while drifting out through the long stretch drive, To Honor and Serve turned back Mucho Macho Man’s challenge for a hard-fought neck victory, crossing the wire with his ears pricked.

“I knew he had it in him,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “He’s been training well.He’s a sound horse, and there no reason for him not to.I think he just threw a real stinker [in the Suburban, because of the heat], and he did come back today and prove he was a pretty darn good horse. ”

The bay son of 2006 Travers winner Bernardini who also sired Travers winner Alpha) paid $9.30 after running the 1¹/8 miles in 1:48.56. The exacta returned $22.40. Cease completed the $88 trifecta.