Uncle Mo (USA)
March 10, 2008 – Living
Indian Charlie (USA) x Playa Maya (USA), by Arch (USA)
Family 8-c
March 10, 2008 – Living
Indian Charlie (USA) x Playa Maya (USA), by Arch (USA)
Family 8-c
A colt who was characterized as being “a man among boys” as a 2-year-old, Uncle Mo was the clear champion of his crop at that age. Unfortunately, his 3-year-old season was disrupted by an episode of serious liver disease, and while he recovered sufficiently to flash his enormous talent once more, he never had a full chance to demonstrate whether he could carry his remarkable speed over more than an extended mile. At stud he was an immediate success, earning titles as American champion freshman and champion juvenile sire, and he has continued among the top ranks in the American stallion market.
Race record
8 starts, 5 wins, 1 second, 1 third, US$1,606,000
2010:
2011:
Honors
Eclipse Award, American champion 2-year-old male (2010)
Assessments
Highweighted at 128 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 2010, 5 pounds above second-rated To Honor and Serve.
Rated at 121 pounds on the 2011 World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for his performance in the Kelso Handicap, 15 pounds below overall highweight Frankel (the European Horse of the Year) and 1 pound below Caleb’s Posse, the top 3-year-old male on dirt.
As an individual
A powerful, muscular, deep-bodied bay horse who bears a distinct resemblance to his sire, Uncle Mo was precocious and blessed with excellent natural speed. He failed to win beyond 8½ furlongs but was probably compromised by his liver disease when he was third in the Wood Memorial and may not have been fully fit for the distance when unplaced in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). He stands 16.2 hands.
As a stallion
According to The Blood-Horse, Uncle Mo was the American champion freshman sire of 2015 and was also the American champion juvenile sire of that year. His progeny have excelled as juveniles and generally stay intermediate distances well. He generally passes on his own good looks but has a tendency to transmit some of the foreleg faults handed down through the Grey Sovereign male line.
Sire rankings
Per Arion Pedigrees (www.arion.co.nz):
Per The Blood-Horse:
Notable progeny
A Mo Reay (USA), Adare Manor (USA), Arabian Knight (USA), Bast (USA), Dream Tree (USA), Golden Pal (USA), Gomo (USA), Kingsbarns (USA), Mo Donegal (USA), Mo Forza (USA), Mo Town (USA), Nyquist (USA), Outwork (USA), Rosalba Maria (VEN), Unbridled Mo (USA), Yaupon (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Geaux Rocket Ride (USA), Howard Wolowitz (USA), Muth (USA), Thorpedo Anna (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Uncle Mo was bred by Dr. D. Michael Cavey. He was owned by Mike Repole, who bought the colt for US$220,000 from the 2009 Keeneland September yearling sale. He was trained by Todd Pletcher and was ridden to his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile victory by John Velazquez, his regular rider. Uncle Mo entered stud in 2012 in Kentucky at Ashford Stud and has also shuttled to Australia.
Pedigree notes
Uncle Mo is inbred 5x5x4 to the great international sire Northern Dancer, who was the Canadian Horse of the Year in 1964 and was also the American champion 3-year-old male of that year. He is the third foal of listed stakes-placed Playa Maya, who was the only foal of her dam, the Dixieland Band mare Dixie Slippers.
A winner on the track, Dixie Slippers is a half sister to Grade 3 winner Woods of Windsor (by Woodman) and to Chapala (by Meadowlake), dam of listed stakes winner Queen of God (by Paynter). Dixie Slippers and her siblings are out of the Cyane mare Cyane’s Slippers, who failed to win or place in nine races but is a half sister to Double Slippers (by Thirty Eight Paces), dam of 1997 Gran Premio de Las Americas-Internacional (ARG-G1) winner Eithan (by Polish Numbers).
The next dam in Uncle Mo’s tail-female line is stakes-placed Hot Slippers (by Rollicking), whose full sister Bouncy Barb is the dam of listed stakes winner Long Suit (by Lord Gaylord) and multiple stakes winners Bouncing Brave (by Brave Shot) and Coper (by Vigors). Produced from the Fairfield mare Miss Fairfield, Hot Slippers is also a half sister to Red’s Landing (by Solo Landing), dam of stakes winner Tricki Vicki (by Rollicking), and to Summer Harvest (by Summer Tan) is the second dam of 1989 Jamaican champion older male Shining Hour.
Books and media
Footage of Uncle Mo’s victory in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zm8hTlAJpQ.
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photo taken by Jessica Morgan at Ashford Stud in 2013. Used by permission.
Last updated: September 7, 2024
Race record
8 starts, 5 wins, 1 second, 1 third, US$1,606,000
2010:
- Won Champagne Stakes (USA-G1, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Churchill Downs)
2011:
- Won Kelso Handicap (USA-G2, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Timely Writer Stakes (USA, 8FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 2nd Foxwoods King's Bishop Stakes (USA-G1, 7FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Resorts World New York Casino Wood Memorial Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Aqueduct)
Honors
Eclipse Award, American champion 2-year-old male (2010)
Assessments
Highweighted at 128 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 2010, 5 pounds above second-rated To Honor and Serve.
Rated at 121 pounds on the 2011 World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for his performance in the Kelso Handicap, 15 pounds below overall highweight Frankel (the European Horse of the Year) and 1 pound below Caleb’s Posse, the top 3-year-old male on dirt.
As an individual
A powerful, muscular, deep-bodied bay horse who bears a distinct resemblance to his sire, Uncle Mo was precocious and blessed with excellent natural speed. He failed to win beyond 8½ furlongs but was probably compromised by his liver disease when he was third in the Wood Memorial and may not have been fully fit for the distance when unplaced in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). He stands 16.2 hands.
As a stallion
According to The Blood-Horse, Uncle Mo was the American champion freshman sire of 2015 and was also the American champion juvenile sire of that year. His progeny have excelled as juveniles and generally stay intermediate distances well. He generally passes on his own good looks but has a tendency to transmit some of the foreleg faults handed down through the Grey Sovereign male line.
Sire rankings
Per Arion Pedigrees (www.arion.co.nz):
- 2nd on the North American general sire list in 2020; 3rd in 2016 and 2023; 4th in 2022; 6th in 2021; 7th in 2019.
- Led the North American juvenile sire list in 2015.
Per The Blood-Horse:
- 3rd on the American general sire list in 2016 and 2020; 4th in 2023; 6th in 2022; 8th in 2021.
- Led the American juvenile sire list in 2015.
Notable progeny
A Mo Reay (USA), Adare Manor (USA), Arabian Knight (USA), Bast (USA), Dream Tree (USA), Golden Pal (USA), Gomo (USA), Kingsbarns (USA), Mo Donegal (USA), Mo Forza (USA), Mo Town (USA), Nyquist (USA), Outwork (USA), Rosalba Maria (VEN), Unbridled Mo (USA), Yaupon (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Geaux Rocket Ride (USA), Howard Wolowitz (USA), Muth (USA), Thorpedo Anna (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Uncle Mo was bred by Dr. D. Michael Cavey. He was owned by Mike Repole, who bought the colt for US$220,000 from the 2009 Keeneland September yearling sale. He was trained by Todd Pletcher and was ridden to his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile victory by John Velazquez, his regular rider. Uncle Mo entered stud in 2012 in Kentucky at Ashford Stud and has also shuttled to Australia.
Pedigree notes
Uncle Mo is inbred 5x5x4 to the great international sire Northern Dancer, who was the Canadian Horse of the Year in 1964 and was also the American champion 3-year-old male of that year. He is the third foal of listed stakes-placed Playa Maya, who was the only foal of her dam, the Dixieland Band mare Dixie Slippers.
A winner on the track, Dixie Slippers is a half sister to Grade 3 winner Woods of Windsor (by Woodman) and to Chapala (by Meadowlake), dam of listed stakes winner Queen of God (by Paynter). Dixie Slippers and her siblings are out of the Cyane mare Cyane’s Slippers, who failed to win or place in nine races but is a half sister to Double Slippers (by Thirty Eight Paces), dam of 1997 Gran Premio de Las Americas-Internacional (ARG-G1) winner Eithan (by Polish Numbers).
The next dam in Uncle Mo’s tail-female line is stakes-placed Hot Slippers (by Rollicking), whose full sister Bouncy Barb is the dam of listed stakes winner Long Suit (by Lord Gaylord) and multiple stakes winners Bouncing Brave (by Brave Shot) and Coper (by Vigors). Produced from the Fairfield mare Miss Fairfield, Hot Slippers is also a half sister to Red’s Landing (by Solo Landing), dam of stakes winner Tricki Vicki (by Rollicking), and to Summer Harvest (by Summer Tan) is the second dam of 1989 Jamaican champion older male Shining Hour.
Books and media
Footage of Uncle Mo’s victory in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zm8hTlAJpQ.
Fun facts
- The “Mo” in Uncle Mo’s name does not come from a relative of Mike Repole’s; instead, it is an abbreviation for “momentum” and was given because Repole felt that his Repole Stable was gaining momentum at the time he acquired the colt.
- Uncle Mo earned a rarely seen Equibase speed figure of 120 or better three times during his career, topping out with a 123 for both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Kelso Handicap.
- Uncle Mo joined the "Century Club" of stallions that have sired 100 or more stakes winners on March 24, 2024, when his Florida-bred son Crystal Quest won the Equistaff Sophomore Turf Stakes (USA-R) at Tampa Bay Downs.
Photo credit
Photo taken by Jessica Morgan at Ashford Stud in 2013. Used by permission.
Last updated: September 7, 2024