Hoppa Newest Winner For Uncle Mo

It was a successful return to the track for Hoppa (3f Uncle Mo x Handoverthecat, by Tale of the Cat) on Friday when the filly closed out the Churchill Downs card with a victory.

Running over six furlongs on dirt with Florent Geroux aboard, the filly was never far off the pace after breaking well. She raced in second through the early stages before drawing even with the leader in the stretch. Hoppa took over the lead in the final furlong and drew away to win impressively by five lengths as the favorite for owner-breeder Don Alberto Stable.

The Brad Cox-trained filly was making her second start after finishing second at Keeneland in the Spring. She is the first foal out of the Tale of the Cat mare Handoverthecat, who hails from the family of Group I winners War Command and Rollout The Carpet.

The Uncle Mo x Tale of the Cat cross has proven to be a strong one with the leading sire producing seven winners from eight runners of out Tale Of The Cat mares, including Grade III winner Life’s a Parlay.

Uncle Mo paired with granddaughters of Storm Cat has produced nine stakes horses overall, led by his Champion 2-year-old and Grade I Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist.