Visiting Champion Sire Uncle Mo

Visiting Champion Sire Uncle Mo: When is the last time a first crop stallion had a Champion two-year-old, a Breeders’ Cup winner, three Kentucky Derby starters, the likely Kentucky Derby favorite, and a Kentucky Oaks starter? I am not sure if there has been one. However, there is one currently standing at Coolmore America (Ashford Stud) in the Bluegrass State and his name is Uncle Mo.

Recently Scott Calder, who works in Sales and Marketing for the farm, was kind enough to grant me access to the stallion, and offered up a brief interview about their current superstar.

When the groom brought out the stallion, I instantly noticed the massive frame he had filled out and the amount of leg he possessed. Scott pointed out that Uncle Mo is the tallest stallion on the farm, standing at 16.3 (and about a half) hands tall. Uncle Mo has a very filled out and round barrel that accentuates his massive hind end and equally muscular shoulder. He does have a very nice, defined neck and head. He almost seems delicate, in a way.

“When he [Uncle Mo] stands in front of you and sticks his head up, it’s hard not to be impressed.”

Scott mentioned that while Uncle Mo is booked full for the season, at a fee set back in November for $75,000, if the farm were to start over with his book of mares, they would likely double his fee, due to the amount of success he has enjoyed.

Uncle Mo is a son of the top stallion, Indian Charlie, who was quite successful as a sire himself. Unfortunately, the stallion line itself has seemingly gone out with a sizzle. That is, until Uncle Mo.

Indian Charlie was also responsible for top racehorses such as Fleet Indian, Indian Blessing, By The Moon, and Liaison. While there are multiple sons of Indian Charlie at stud, none have hit like Uncle Mo.

The only inbreeding that exists in Uncle Mo’s first five generations is a triple dose of Northern Dancer. That influential stallion can be found in fifth generation of the stallion’s side and the fourth and fifth generation of the dam’s side of the pedigree. When asking about breeding, Scott pointed out something interesting about Uncle Mo.

“He is very easy to breed to, being an outcross of most of the major stallion lines. He has had success with Mr. Prospector, especially through Gone West, and Storm Cat. He can also be bred to the A.P. Indy line as well.”

When asked about if there was a certain line they could use, in hopes of adding some distance to his offspring, Scott brought back up Mr. Prospector, since Indian Charlie did so well with that line. However, he also pointed out that Uncle Mo is unusual since he is out of an Arch mare. Scott also confirmed that Coolmore is supporting Uncle Mo incredibly.

“We have spent a lot of money on his current two-year-olds and we also have a very strong broodmare band here, as a number of our top mares will be going to him this year.”

Scott confirmed that Uncle Mo has a way of stamping his foals with his frame and temperament.

“They [the foals] are like him. They are big-framed horses. They seem to have a lot of class about them and they don’t have much white on them…When we went through the sales the first year and looked at all of his first crop, they’re all cut from the same cloth.”

Uncle Mo is certainly special, his instant success at stud clearly shows that. It is also that success that has set him apart from the rest of the stallions on the farm.

“The way he has started off at stud is so unique.”

Uncle Mo’s most famous son, right now, is the undefeated 2015 Champion two-year-old male, Nyquist, and the likely Kentucky Derby favorite. Nyquist is not the only chance for the stallion to succeed. Currently, Uncle Mo is represented by three Kentucky Derby contenders and a Kentucky Oaks contender. There is Outwork and Mo Tom for the Derby and Mo d’Amour for the Oaks.

As we can see, Uncle Mo has started off with a bang, or like Scott “He’s hit the big time, that’s for sure.”

Now let’s see if he can stay in the big times.