Uncle Mo (foaled March 10, 2008, in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

) is an American champion

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who went undefeated in his two-year-old season and was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old of 2010. However, his three-year-old season was disrupted by illness, causing him to miss the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. Retired to stud in 2012, he was the leading freshman sire with his first

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal i ...

crop, which included 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist.

Racing career

2010: two-year-old season

In his first start, a maiden special weight on the Travers undercard at Saratoga, Uncle Mo led at every call to beat a field of 2-year-olds by 14 1/4 lengths. In his next start, the

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Champagne Stakes, he took the lead early and never looked back en route to a 5-length win in the time of 1:34 2/5 seconds—faster than

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

's 1972 Champagne win. In the Grade I

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup ...

, Uncle Mo won by four lengths over Grade 1 winner Boys at Tosconova. He was voted the 2010

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

as the

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

2011: three-year-old season

As the early favorite for the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, the first leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, Uncle Mo made his 3-year-old debut in the

Timely Writer Timely Writer (April 21, 1979 – October 9, 1982) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. The ''Boston Globe'' once described him as "the horse with the greatest potential—and the worst luck—whose very story was a fairytale of racing ...

, a one-turn mile overnight stakes at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

. After dawdling on the lead for the first three-quarters of a mile, he came home in 22 4/5 for the final quarter. His next start was the

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

at Aqueduct on April 9. Running 9 furlongs for the first time in his career, Uncle Mo was defeated by Toby's Corner and finished third. After his upset at 1-10 odds, he was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal infection but was still sent to

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

in anticipation of a start in the

. After finishing a course of antibiotics, regressing immediately after stopping medication, and losing over 70 pounds in the weeks before the Derby, he was scratched the day before the race. Sent to

Winstar Farm WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and horse racing, racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky, owned by Kenny Troutt. It won the 2010 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner and 2016 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder, Outstandi ...

to recuperate and receive attention from top veterinarians, Uncle Mo was diagnosed with cholangiohepatitis, a rare liver disease. He began treatment while continuing to rest at Winstar. After gaining back 110 pounds in two months, he returned to trainer Todd Pletcher's barn at Saratoga on July 11, 2011. He resumed training and finished second to Caleb's Posse in the 7-furlong

King's Bishop Stakes The H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The current purse for th ...

on August 1, 2011.

Retirement

Uncle Mo was retired from racing on November 10, 2011, shortly after finishing 10th in the

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...

. His retirement was prompted due to elevated levels of the liver enzyme GGT, which also occurred earlier in the season and led to a diagnosis of cholangiohepatitis.

Stud record

Uncle Mo began standing at Ashford Stud, the American arm of Irish breeding giant Coolmore, for the 2012 Thoroughbred breeding season, and is now a "shuttle stallion" servicing mares at Coolmore's American and Australian farms. Uncle Mo was the leading freshman sire of 2015 in North America and the overall leading sire of two-year-olds in Europe and North America. In 2016, he was not only the leading second-crop sire, he also finished third in the general sire listing despite having only two crops of racing age. His stud fee was increased to $150,000 for the 2017 season.

Notable progeny

Uncle Mo has sired 11 individual Grade I winners. ''c =

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

, f =

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

'', g =

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Race Record

Pedigree

References

{{reflist
Uncle Mo's official website

Uncle Mo's pedigree and racing stats
2008 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners Thoroughbred family 8-c