Uncle Mo

Yaupon took his record to a perfect three-for-three and became the second graded winner of the day for Uncle Mo with a victory in the GII Amsterdam S. Hustled up to the front by Joel Rosario, the dark bay clicked off an opening quarter in :21.93 with Long Weekend giving chase in second. Registering a half-mile in :44.68 with a host of pursuers ranging up menacingly, Yaupon kept on finding over the sloppy going, pulling clear in the lane for a decisive score. "He's extremely fast. He's got an elite...

Bye Bye Melvin took to the rain-soaked turf well at Saturday Saturday, upsetting the GIII Saranac S. at 19-1. Stalking from a joint second through a glacial opening quarter in :27.17, the bay sat back a bit in third, letting Embolden (The Factor) move up to contest the pace with leader Don Juan Kitten through a half in :51.54. Under a ride approaching the far turn, Bye Bye Melvin was churning up sod as he brushed with his neighbor Bodecream (Bodemeister) at the top of the lane, but found his...

Harvest Moon (Uncle Mo) remained perfect in three starts going long on the dirt and gave her sire yet another new graded winner with a determined success in the GIII Torrey Pines S. on the Pacific Classic undercard. The betting favorite was beaten for speed and was content to race in the one out and one back position with cover rounding the first turn as Secret Keeper (Into Mischief) led narrowly from Provocation (Into Mischief) to her outside. Mike Smith atop the latter upped the ante through the middle stages,...

Golden Pal, still diploma-less despite two runner-up finishes and plenty of hype, put it all together Friday in Saratoga's Skidmore S. A close second at 1-2 odds on the Gulfstream main track Apr. 17, the son of turf sprinting phenom Lady Shipman was just tagged late after showing the way in Royal Ascot's G2 Norfolk S. June 19. He and stablemate Fauci (Malibu Moon) appeared to have this compact field at their mercy, and the public got it right in installing Golden Pal as the 2-5 chalk. Blasting out of...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today's Observations features a trio of siblings to Grade/Group 1 winners. 12.55 Leopardstown, Mdn, €25,000, 2yo f, 7f 20yT EARTH STRIKE (IRE) (Zoffany {Ire}) is an interesting debutante in this Irish EBF Median Sires Series Fillies Maiden, being a half-sister to the G1 Gold Cup and dual G1 Irish...

Pneumatic debuted going six panels at Oaklawn Feb. 15 with a neck score over next out winner Skol Factor (The Factor) before earning TDN Rising Star status stretching to a mile in optional claiming company at the Hot Springs oval Apr. 11. Tiring to third after prompting the early pace in Churchill's GIII Matt Winn S. May 23, the dark bay finished fourth most recently in the GI Belmont S. June 20. Installed the 4-5 favorite in this field of eight, Pneumatic sat close to the pace-setting two-for-two Arkaan through...

Following the completion of the last major 2-year-old sale of the season in each of the past two years, we looked at the potential success of the freshman sires by creating a handicapping event, noting both times that the freshman sires of 2018 and 2019 were very competitive bunches, i.e., many of them were capable of rising to the top five or so of their contemporaries after a few crops had raced. This year there was a substantial wrinkle in the process. Because of the Covid-19 situation, the sales season...

Following a resounding victory in the GI Belmont S., Sackatoga Stable and Barclay Tagg could have easily put their star pupil Tiz the Law (Constitution) in bubble wrap and waited for a run in the rescheduled GI Kentucky Derby. After all, only in this strange year could a team of connections have the benefit of 11 weeks of rest in between the first and second legs of the Triple Crown. Instead, the once-beaten New York-bred star will line up as a heavy favorite in Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S. at...

You didn't know? Sure they do, every Travers weekend. All the Bluegrass stallions. They get together for a few bourbons at the country club, compare notes on the covering season. And it's not like the officers' mess, where no gentleman would bandy a lady's name. They guffaw when they discover that some notoriously ornery mare was sent to a naïve new subscriber; they drool enviously when one of the senior members reveals that he was favored with a visit from that gorgeous maiden who topped a session at the November...

When signing for a $340,000 Uncle Mo filly at this year's OBS March Sale, Dennis O'Neill, noted bloodstock advisor and brother of trainer Doug O'Neill, told the TDN's Steve Sherack that he "kept telling [owner] Paul [Reddam] that she was my female Nyquist." The April foal, now named Get On the Bus, looks a live chance on debut as she breaks from the rail in Friday's GII Sorrento S. at Del Mar. The April foal, produced by a winning half-sister to G1 Dubai World Cup hero African Story (GB) (Pivotal...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - This summer, the road to Churchill Downs runs through upstate New York and has brought Caracaro (Uncle Mo) from South Florida for the historic GI Runhappy Travers S. Saturday. Though the Travers is often the late-August goal for the owners and trainers of talented 3-year-olds, the COVID-19 pandemic has produced a serious rewrite of the schedule for elite races and briefly changed its status. Long ago dubbed the "Midsummer Derby," the 2020 Travers at Saratoga Race Course is a stepping stone to the GI Kentucky Derby...

7th-Del Mar, $57,000, Msw, 8-2, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.98, ft. ROLL UP MO MONEY (f, 2, Uncle Mo--Twixy Roll {MSW, $277,172}, by Roll Hennessy Roll) came from off the pace to graduate in her career unveiling at Del Mar Sunday. Overlooked at 15-1, the Jeff Mullins trainee was hustled out from her wide berth and settled in a stalking position as first Hi Con (Nyquist) and then Bonus Fever (Runhappy) set early fractions of :22.48 and :46.83 while favorite Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) lingered near the back. At the throat...