Kentucky Derby questions: Uncle Mo and the Wood

After Uncle Mo's disappointing third in the Wood Memorial, does he deserve another chance?

Absolutely. It’s amazing that it took only 1:50 for the once undefeated 2-year-old champion to go from hero to bum in the eyes of some fans and columnists. Sure, Uncle Mo didn’t run well in the Wood Memorial, but considering he grabbed his quarter coming out of the gate and raced on the lead over a track that wasn’t exactly the kindest to speed horses, he deserves a mulligan in my eyes. He still has the same question marks as he did before the Wood − distance, fitness, form − but we know what the “good” Uncle Mo can do. If the “good” Uncle Mo shows up in Louisville − and that’s obviously a huge “if” at this stage − the others are going to have to have their running shoes latched on tight. And for the faithful who remain on his bandwagon, he’ll offer better odds to boot.

Four factors to consider are preparation, pedigree, price, and pace.

Any 3-year-old who comes out of his final prep race the worse for wear has major hurdles to overcome, particularly in a two-prep situation, and all the more so when the comeback race was essentially a public workout at 1-20 with four other horses. Even assuming all is well, the average winning distance for sire Indian Charlie’s progeny is among the shortest in the prospective field (Fleet Indian is his only Grade 1 winner at 10 furlongs that comes to mind), and Uncle Mo’s stretch fade in the Wood was not indicative of a horse who wanted 1 1/4 miles. So it depends on what sort of odds line you put on an early-maturing colt with a suspect pedigree who has been ailing and had an altered training schedule.

Finally, his task from a pace perspective hinges mightily on whether he can put away several prospective early rivals and still hold off the late charges of Dialed In, Archarcharch, and Nehro.

Uncle Mo deserves another chance if for no other reason than because he is definitely the fastest horse among this group of 3-year-olds. If he did have a legitimate excuse in the Wood and can bounce back to his previous form, he is certainly among the win candidates in a wide-open Derby. There are still plenty of questions to answer, including his ability to stay 1 1/4 miles, but after watching the way he trained this week and worked Tuesday, it has renewed my confidence in his ability to be a major player in this year’s Derby.

Heading into the Derby
Fourteen of the 21 Derby winners since 1990 did not win their final prep race

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