Catching Up With Uncle Mo

Uncle Mo in his paddock at Ashford Stud. (Photos by Coolmore unless otherwise noted)
A talented and hyped horse from Todd Pletcher’s barn, Uncle Mo debuted with massive expectations placed on his back. The winner of his first two starts by a combined marin of 19 lengths, Uncle Mo looked like he could not lose when he shipped to Churchill Downs for the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Going off at odds of 7-to-5, Uncle Mo broke well and settled in second behind Riveting Reason with a confident John Velazquez aboard. At the top of the stretch, Velazquez let Uncle Mo run and, within a few strides, he was a few lengths in front of the field. Velazquez just had to hand ride him to make sure Uncle Mo didn’t lose focus as they pulled away to a 4 ¼-length victory over Boys At Tosconova.
2010 BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup World Championships
“That was as impressive as they get. It was an unbelievable performance; crazy fast like he’s been doing all along," Pletcher told Blood-Horse. "He runs really fast for a long time. He was right there and they were going quick all the way. Johnny [Velazquez] pushed the button on the turn and he had another gear. When Johnny turned for home, I felt like we were in good shape. I don’t get goosebumps very often but that performance gave me chills."
Uncle Mo was the first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner for Pletcher, who won both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf races that year as well. It was also the first Juvenile win for Velazquez and owner Repole Stable.
Going into his 3-year-old season as the Kentucky Derby favorite, Uncle Mo didn’t make his first start of the year until the Timely Writer Stakes on March 12. The colt made it look like a paid workout, not being asked for much but still winning by 3 ¾ lengths to keep his undefeated record.
Uncle Mo then went to a more traditional Kentucky Derby prep in the Wood Memorial Stakes in Repole’s home state of New York, where Pletcher was based. Getting off to a good start, Uncle Mo took the lead as expected and held it until the final furlong of the race, where he was passed by Toby’s Corner and Arthur’s Tale. But Uncle Mo didn’t lose by much in the race, finishing only 1 ¼ lengths behind Toby’s Corner.
From there, Uncle Mo’s career took a detour.
After the race, it was discovered he had an infection but he was still kept on the Kentucky Derby trail with connections hoping treatment would clear up the infection in the weeks before the Derby. But ultimately the colt had to be scratched from the Kentucky Derby when veterinarians couldn’t figure out his specific illness.
Nearly three months later, after he recovered from what had been diagnosed as a rare liver disease, Uncle Mo returned to the track for his first breeze on July 22. A month later, Uncle Mo was thrown into the deep end of the racing pool when entered in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes.
It looked like Uncle Mo may have a fairy tale comeback as he took over the lead in midstretch, but closer Caleb’s Posse was making up ground with every stride and the race came down to a photo finish. Caleb’s Posse just nosed out Uncle Mo at the finish line for the win.
“He ran awesome. It was a tough task to ask him off the bench,” Velazquez told Blood-Horse. “I thought he ran a great race, just barely made it. I’m just glad to have him back. He was fighting the whole way around. That’s what I like about him.”
In a final prep for the Breeders’ Cup, Uncle Mo was entered in the Kelso Handicap. He looked like the horse that racing had seen before his illness. Facing just four horses, Uncle Mo took over the lead by a few lengths right out of the gate. On the turn, Jackson Bend made a big move to challenge Uncle Mo but he wasn’t having any of it. He kicked into another gear and Velazquez just had to keep him busy to keep him three lengths in front of Jackson Bend at the wire.
“Uncle Mo … he’s backkkkk!” track announcer Tom Durkin said as Uncle Mo crossed the finish line.
2011 KELSO HANDICAP

Video courtesy of the New York Racing Association
"I would have been surprised if he didn’t run really well," Pletcher told Blood-Horse. "He had trained so brilliantly since the King’s Bishop. He ran even better than I could have hoped. Jackson Bend put in a serious move around the turn. He was really running; in the form he’s in, obviously, he’s the horse you’re mainly concerned about. I was worried for a second. Uncle Mo is that special of a horse that he can do anything.”
Instead of taking the automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Uncle Mo was pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where he went off as something other than the race favorite for the first time in his career. At odds of 5.40-to-1, those who didn’t bet on him looked to have made the right move with Uncle Mo finishing 10th in the race. He was retired from racing a few days later and sent to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
Uncle Mo retired with a record of five wins in eight starts for $1,606,000 in earnings and an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male in 2010.
His first crop of foals had 167 foals born in the Northern Hemisphere (Uncle Mo also shuttles to Australia) and those foals have shown to have a lot of promise on the track in their first season of racing. Of his 37 starters as of Oct. 5, Uncle Mo has 11 winners and four stakes winners with three of those winning graded stakes.
Uncle Mo’s 2-year-olds are led by the Reddam Racing-owned, Doug O’Neill-trained duo of Nyquist and Gomo. Probable Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile favorite Nyquist has two Grade 1 wins and one Grade 2 victory in four starts this year, putting him in the running for 2-year-old champion male this year. Gomo, who was already graded stakes placed before heading to Keeneland, gave her freshman sire a second Grade 1 victory when winning the Darley Alcibiades on the same track as the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
NYQUIST WINNING THE FRONTRUNNER

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Uncle Vinny, who is trained by Todd Pletcher, gives Uncle Mo a third graded stakes win with his victory in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga while Uncle Brennie won the Sunday Silence Stakes to give Uncle Mo his fourth stakes winner.
“Because Uncle Mo was such a brilliant horse on the track, he retired to Ashford with a lot of expectation that he could be a very influential stallion for Coolmore,” said Scott Calder of Ashford Stud. “Thankfully, everything has gone to plan so far as his foals have looked the part and now he already has two Grade 1 winners in his first crop. It’s still early days, but from everything we’ve seen so far he has the makings of a horse that could have a big impact for years to come.”
An interesting note on his first crop is that Todd Pletcher and Repole Stable gave Uncle Mo his first winner with Outwork in April. Pletcher also was responsible for his first stakes winner with Uncle Vinny a few months later.
Falling into the typical second-season dip that many stallions experience from a numbers perspective, Uncle Mo just had 98 foals born in 2014 but his number of foals born in 2015 shot back up to 132. Calder expects breeders to take even more interest in the stallion next year after his first crop success.
UNCLE MO

“Uncle Mo has started off extremely well at stud. He has been very popular with breeders and buyers since he retired from the track and with the flying start he has made with his first runners we expect him to be a big hit with breeders again next year,” he said. “Uncle Mo has always been an easy sell with breeders. Everyone had seen what he did as a juvenile and even though his classic campaign was derailed by illness he still showed that brilliance as a 3-year-old that many breeders look for. Physically, he is an imposing specimen and he passes on his looks - it’s easy to pick an Uncle Mo foal out of the crowd - so all those things have meant he has covered big books of mares each year.”
With his first foals hitting the track showing the same brilliance as their sire, Uncle Mo is still exceeding all expectations placed on him even four years after leaving the racetrack.