Uncle Mo has another strong juvenile group
It was no surprise to see Uncle Mo atop the freshman sire list in 2015. After all, he was an unbeaten juvenile champion himself, with every right to start his stud career off fast. But he exceeded expectations, shattering records with his first crop.
Now the juveniles conceived the following spring as a result of that early success are putting him among the leading juvenile sires again. Uncle Mo recorded three juvenile winners last week, led by Bast, who stamped herself as a favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with her victory in the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita.
Uncle Mo, who stands at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., led not only the freshman list but also the overall juvenile sire list in 2015, with a bankroll of $3,632,314. The success was powered by Nyquist, who capped an unbeaten campaign with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The earnings were a North American freshman-season record, shattering the $2,811,337 amassed in 2008 by future supersire Tapit.
Uncle Mo’s fee tripled from $25,000 in 2015 to $75,000 in 2016, and his book of mares also jumped – from 221 to 256, with a presumable rise in quality as well off his freshman success. The resulting foals are now juveniles, and Uncle Mo sits second among Kentucky sires on the juvenile sire earnings list. He has 14 winners from 41 starters in the category through Sunday for earnings of $1,156,841. Perennial leading juvenile sire Into Mischief is atop the list, with 20 winners from 60 starters for earnings of $1,608,238.
Uncle Mo’s leading juvenile is Bast, who was a $500,000 yearling purchase by the Baoma Corp. of Charles and Susan Chu. The filly, trained by Bob Baffert, was second on debut at Del Mar before winning consecutive Grade 1 events, taking the Del Mar Debutante (pictured) in August and the Chandelier on Friday’s opening-day card at Santa Anita. Santa Anita will host the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1.
Uncle Mo picked up a pair of maiden special weight winners on Saturday, including Donna Veloce, who could join Bast in the Juvenile Fillies starting gate off a dominant victory. Donna Veloce was an $800,000 purchase earlier this year by Kaleem Shah out of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale. The filly lived up to that billing by drawing away to win her debut by 9 1/4 lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 91 – tied for the top figure by a 2-year-old filly this year. Trainer Simon Callaghan said Donna Veloce will make her next start in Grade 1 company, with the Juvenile Fillies and the Starlet Stakes in December at Los Alamitos under consideration.
Meanwhile at Churchill Downs, Uncle Mo’s Impeccable Style drew away late to win her second start by 2 1/4 lengths for Gainesway Stable and trainer Ken McPeek.
Source: Nicole Russo, DRF.com, Sep 30