Uncle Mo (March 10, 2008 – December 19, 2024) was an American champion Thoroughbred racehorse who went undefeated in his two-year-old season and was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old of 2010. However, his three-year-old season was disrupted by illness, causing him to miss the Kentucky Derby. Retired to stud in 2012, he was the leading freshman sire with his first foal crop, which included 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist.

Racing career

2010: two-year-old season In his first start, a maiden special weight on the Travers undercard at Saratoga, Uncle Mo led at every call to beat a field of 2-year-olds by 14 1/4 lengths. In his next start, the Grade I Champagne Stakes, he took the lead early and never looked back en route to a 5-length win in the time of 1:34 2/5 seconds—faster than Secretariat's 1972 Champagne win.

In the Grade I Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Uncle Mo won by four lengths over Grade 1 winner Boys at Tosconova.Bloomberg Businessweek November 06, 2010 He was voted the 2010 Eclipse Award as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt.Daily Racing Form, January 6, 2011

2011: three-year-old season As the early favorite for the 2011 Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, Uncle Mo made his 3-year-old debut in the Timely Writer, a one-turn mile overnight stakes at Gulfstream Park. After dawdling on the lead for the first three-quarters of a mile, he came home in 22 4/5 for the final quarter.

His next start was the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct on April 9.BloodHorse, March 31, 2011 Running 9 furlongs for the first time in his career, Uncle Mo was defeated by Toby's Corner and finished third.

After his upset at 1-10 odds, he was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal infection but was still sent to Churchill Downs in anticipation of a start in the Kentucky Derby. After finishing a course of antibiotics, regressing immediately after stopping medication, and losing over 70 pounds in the weeks before the Derby, he was scratched the day before the race.

Sent to Winstar Farm to recuperate and receive attention from top veterinarians, Uncle Mo was diagnosed with cholangiohepatitis, a rare liver disease. He began treatment while continuing to rest at Winstar. After gaining back 110 pounds in two months, he returned to trainer Todd Pletcher's barn at Saratoga on July 11, 2011. The colt resumed training and finished second to Caleb's Posse in the 7-furlong King's Bishop Stakes on August 1, 2011. He then went on to win the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park in wire to wire fashion.https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=8292193&registry=T&rbt=TB

Retirement to stud Uncle Mo was retired from racing on November 10, 2011, shortly after finishing 10th in the Breeders' Cup Classic. His retirement was prompted by elevated levels of the liver enzyme GGT, which also occurred earlier in the season and led to a diagnosis of cholangiohepatitis.

Uncle Mo began standing at Ashford Stud, the American arm of Irish breeding giant Coolmore, for the 2012 Thoroughbred breeding season, and later became a "shuttle stallion" servicing mares at Coolmore's American and Australian farms.

Uncle Mo was the leading freshman sire of 2015 in North America and the overall leading sire of two-year-olds in Europe and North America. In 2016, he was not only the leading second-crop sire, he also finished third in the general sire listing despite having only two crops of racing age. His stud fee was increased to $150,000 for the 2017 season.

On December 19, 2024, Mike Repole announced on his X account that Uncle Mo had been euthanized at the age of 16. He said that Uncle Mo had injured his left foreleg, and underwent surgery on the day before his death. "Uncle Mo was so much more to me than a champion and iconic stallion—he was and always will be part of my family," he said.

Notable progeny

Uncle Mo has sired 16 individual Grade I winners.

c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding

Foaled Name Sex Major Wins 2013 Gomo f Alcibiades Stakes 2013 Nyquist c Del Mar Futurity, FrontRunner Stakes, Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Florida Derby, Kentucky Derby 2013 Outwork c Wood Memorial Stakes 2013 Unbridled Mo f Apple Blossom Handicap 2014 Mo Town c Hollywood Derby 2015 Dream Tree f Starlet Stakes 2016 Mo Forza c Hollywood Derby 2017 Bast f Del Mar Debutante Stakes, Chandelier Stakes, Starlet Stakes 2017 Yaupon c Forego Stakes 2018 Golden Pal c Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint 2019 Mo Donegal c Belmont Stakes 2019 Adare Manor f Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (2023, 2024) 2019 A Mo Reay f Beholder Mile Stakes 2020 Arabian Knight c Pacific Classic Stakes 2020 Kingsbarns c Stephen Foster Stakes 2021 Seismic Beauty f Clement L. Hirsch Stakes

Race record DateTrackRaceDistanceFinish8/23/2010SaratogaMaiden6 Furlongs110/9/2010Belmont ParkChampagne Stakes8 Furlongs111/6//2010Churchill DownsBreeders' Cup Juvenile8 ½ Furlongs13/12/2011Gulfstream ParkTimely Writer Stakes8 Furlongs14/9/2011AqueductWood Memorial9 Furlongs38/27/2011SaratogaKing's Bishop Stakes7 Furlongs210/1/2011Belmont ParkKelso Handicap8 Furlongs111/5/2011Churchill DownsBreeders' Cup Classic10 Furlongs10

Pedigree

* Uncle Mo is inbred 5S x 5D x 4D to the stallion Northern Dancer, meaning that he appears in the fifth generation (via Sovereign Dancer) on the sire side and in the fifth (via Danzig) and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

Sources Uncle Mo's official website Uncle Mo's pedigree and racing stats