Uncle Mo: Go or no go?
One-time Derby favorite looks as healthy as a horse
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – To go or not to go. Uncle Mo’s connections still weren’t saying whether the talented colt will run in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
The sleek bay colt was recovering from a stomach ailment, but looked good as he galloped over the Churchill Downs track on Thursday, though appearances could be deceiving. Uncle Mo looks about as exotic as his name – average size, with no distinguishing marks like the white splash on Zenyatta’s forehead. But his power is apparent as soon as he starts running.
Last year’s juvenile champion, Uncle Mo is the 9-2 second choice behind 4-1 early favorite Dialed In.
Owner Mike Repole anxiously awaited results from the latest vet exam, and promised to end the drama by announcing a decision today.
“If he’s not what we deem to be 100 percent tomorrow, he’s not going to be 100 percent on Saturday,” he said.
Repole said he won’t sacrifice Uncle Mo’s health to satisfy his 30-year dream of having a horse in America’s greatest race. Either way, he won’t be shut out. He has Stay Thirsty in the full field of 20 horses.
Still, the fast-talking Queens native, who got rich selling his Vitaminwater company to Coca-Cola, doesn’t want to leave his best horse in the barn.
“It’s tough,” he said. “Racing needs superstars and if he’s 100 percent, Uncle Mo could be that superstar.”
He sure looked it after winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on the same Churchill Downs track and taking a perfect record into the Wood Memorial. There, Uncle Mo led the field with a quarter-mile to go, but two horses passed him and he finished third by a length. Afterward, Uncle Mo’s appetite fell off and raised suspicions. An exam turned up the stomach problem.
Outwardly, Uncle Mo looks as healthy as, well, a horse. Internally, no one’s sure exactly what’s going on.
That’s the quandary.