Uncle Mo

Uncle Mo, a 1-10 favorite in the Wood Memorial, stunned the crowd at Aqueduct on Saturday, April 9 by getting passed in the stretch by two horses. The previously unbeaten three-year-old finished third to the disappointment of many in the racing world who hoped for a super horse to spark the upcoming Triple Crown season. Uncle Mo’s defeat stands as one of the biggest upsets in the eighty-seven-year-old Grade 1 race. “The horse didn’t fire today,” said owner Mike Repole. The Kentucky Derby picture became instantly fuzzy. The 1-1/4 mile Derby distance looms huge in light of  Uncle Mo’s stretch loss to two relatively undistinguished horses. For more details, see Tom Pedulla’s article in USA Today.

Dialed In proved himself a legitimate contender to pre-race favorite Uncle Mo for the upcoming Kentucky Derby on May 7. The dark brown colt electrified the crowd at Gulfstream by coming from a fourteen-length deficit to win the Florida Derby on Sunday. The Nick Zito-trained colt bested what was considered the deepest field in a decade in this million dollar Grade 1 prep for the Triple Crown season. Soldat, the pre-race favorite, came in fifth. Affirmed was the last horse to win the Triple Crown. That was in 1978. The horse racing industry needs something to cheer about, and a new super-horse would be the answer to their dreams. More details in Greg Cote’s article in the Miami Herald. Posted April 4, 2011

Uncle Mo is being touted as the horse to beat in the upcoming Kentucky Derby on May 7. In fact, the undefeated two-year-old champion that ran away with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by more than four lengths is renewing serious talk of a potential Triple Crown winner this year, an accomplishment not seen since Affirmed’s sweep in 1978. The pundits will surely be watching as Uncle Mo makes his three-year-old debut this Saturday, March 12, in the Timely Writer Stakes at Gulfstream. So will his owner, Mike Repole, 42, who has the distinction of having a second horse—Stay Thirsty—in the Derby by virtue of that horse’s win in the Gotham Grade III race at Aqueduct last Saturday, March 5. Uncle Mo and Stay Thirsty are both trained by Todd Pletcher, who has another Derby entry, Brethren. Posted March 8, 2011 All previously published FHL News reports are available by clicking on News/News.