Uncle Mo Kicks Off Keeneland September With Seven-Figure Trio

It was a session topping colt for Uncle Mo during the opening session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale on Monday after Donato Lanni went to $2 million to secure the half-brother to Grade I winner Collected for Zedan Racing.

The second most expensive offering of the session overall, the colt was offered by co-breeder Runnymede Farm, who bred him with Peter Callahan and Three Chimneys Farm. The colt’s winning dam Helena Bay has produced four winners from five to race in addition to the dam of stakes winner Artilena. In all, each of the three dams on the page have produced at least one stakes winner.

"Everybody was very complimentary of the horse. A few people told us he was one of the best colts of the sale for Day 1. We thought we had a good horse, and they told us," Runnymede’s Romain Malhouitre said.

The colt was one of three by Uncle Mo to sell for seven figures during the first session with Sonson, Woodford, and West Point going to $1.35 million for a half-brother to champion Midnight Bisou.

Offered by Hunter Valley Farm, who bred the colt with Mountmellick Farm, he saw a big update to his page at Saratoga when his Grade III winning Justify half-brother Verifying earned his third Grade I-placing in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes. That was followed up by another half-brother winning a stakes the weekend before the sale.

A Grade III winner herself, Diva Delite is a fifth-generation stakes producer in her family. She returned to Justify this year.

"I think this colt is going to be a big winner. We are very excited. We researched him a lot. We are happy to be close to the sale-topper," Chuck Sonson said.

A $1.35 million colt purchased by MV Magnier rounded out Uncle Mo’s Day 1 millionaires.

Offered by Penn Sales as agent for Bar C Racing Stables, the colt is the second out of the War Front mare Forever For Now – who produced a Justify filly for her first foal. Forever For Now is out of a Grade II-placed half-sister to the stakes winner and Group I placed Alluringly with their dam out of the stakes winner All Too Beautiful – a full sister to Galileo and half-sister to Sea The Stars.

All Too Beautiful is a stakes producer herself as the dam of stakes winners Victory Song and Wonder of Wonders. Wonder of Wonders also placed in the Irish and Epsom Oaks.

In all, Uncle Mo had 14 sell on Monday for a gross of $9,470,000 and average of $676,429 – putting him second among all stallions in both categories.