First Resort Joins Derby Trail with G2 Kentucky Jockey Club Win
Uncle Mo’s impressive debut winner First Resort (2c Uncle Mo x Fair Maiden, by Street Boss) won his first stakes on Saturday with a win in the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.
The Godolphin homebred pressed the leading Dapper Moon for much of the 1 1/16-mile dirt race to make sure an honest pace was run. It wasn’t until the final three furlongs that he made a more serious run at the lead to show he was a serious contender. The turn saw him battle for the lead and grabbed the advantage as they entered the stretch in the race.
First Resort never faced a serious challenge, pulling away to an easy 2 ¼ length win with Tiz The Law’s Tiztastic in third. The victory gave First Resort 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with Tiztastic earning three points.
“We were in a perfect spot early in the race,” jockey Luis Saez said. “In his dirt races he was on the lead but he was able to track just off the leader today with the pace being pretty slow. Turning for home I could feel I had a lot of horse beneath me. He really took off down the lane and I could tell the further this horse goes it will be better.”
Trained by Eoin Harty, First Resort has won two of his four starts and was second in the Grade II Saratoga Special before finishing a close fourth in the Grade I Summer Stakes on turf in September.
First Resort is out of Street Boss’s Grade I winner Fair Maiden, who is a great-granddaughter of dual Grade I winner Secret Status. That mare also produced the multiple Grade I placed Dunkirk. Each of First Resort’s first six dams have produced at least one stakes performer.
First Resort is the 16th stakes winner of the year for Uncle Mo and ninth graded stakes winner for his sire in 2024.