Скачать или смотреть Breeders Cup Juvenile: Mike Repole

by Joe Nevills

Uncle Mo put an exclamation point on his bid for champion two-year-old male honors with an emphatic victory in the $1,818,000 Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The Indian Charlie colt at no time was asked with urgency by jockey John Velazquez as he displayed an ability to stalk behind early leader Riveting Reason. In his previous two starts, Uncle Mo quickly took the lead out of the starting gate.

"He's special," Velazquez said. "And today he did it perfect because he allowed me to get him back the way I wanted to. When I asked him at the quarter pole, he was explosive."

Uncle Mo chased Riveting Reason along the backstretch and swallowed him up with an outside move on the final turn. He entered the stretch with a half-length advantage and responded to a few taps from Velazquez's whip to accelerate away from his foes.

Velazquez peeked over his shoulder several times down the stretch to make certain he kept his nearest challenger, Boys at Tosconova, at bay. He had no cause for alarm, however, as Uncle Mo sailed under the wire unchallenged to win by 4 ¼ lengths and remain unbeaten.

Boys at Tosconova finished gamely to take second, six lengths ahead of Rogue Romance. Uncle Mo, the 7-to-5 favorite, covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.60 on a track rated as fast.

Uncle Mo's performance in the Juvenile impressed trainer Todd Pletcher.

"I don't get goosebumps very often," Pletcher said. "But that performance gave me some chills.

"He runs really fast for a long time," Pletcher said. "He's got the whole package."

Pletcher saddled Uncle Mo for owner Repole Stable. The pair also sent fifth place finisher Stay Thirsty to the post.

Mike Repole said owning a horse of Uncle Mo's caliber is the manifestation of a lifetime of dreams.

"I've thought about this moment for 30 years, 25 years as a racing fan and five or six as an owner," he said. "So many kids want to grow up to be baseball players or football players, and I just wanted to own a special horse."

Bred in Kentucky by D. Michael Cavey, Uncle Mo remained unbeaten with three wins from as many starts, including two Grade 1 victories, and $1,296,000 in earnings.

The impressive performance asides, Velazquez said it would be unwise to place oppressive expectations on the young horse.

"This is a special horse," he said. "We have to take it step by step. The [Kentucky] Derby [Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)], is too far away to even think about it."