THE death of stallion
Indian Charlie in December 2011 was as much of a blow to the health of the Caro sire line in North America as it was to Kentucky breeders.
A talented runner who won the
1998 Santa Anita Derby, Indian Charlie was a son In Excess, an Irish-bred grandson of Caro. Indian Charlie made his name off an early fee of $10,000 and such was his success that, at the time of his death, he was commanding
$75,000 at Airdrie Stud.
Attention has now turned to
Indian Charlie's most accomplished son UNCLE MO, who has commenced his stud career in spectacular fashion.
Uncle Mo commenced his stud career at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky just two months after his sire's death.
UNCLE MO - at Stud in USA
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UNCLE MO - Winning the Breeder's Cup Juvenile at 2.
UNCLE MO was a champion two-year-old. His five wins for owner Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher included a dominant victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
He has received every opportunity from the outset, notably during his first season when
he covered 211 mares at an initial service fee of $35,000.
In return,
he has developed into a record-breaking freshman sire, one who has considerably enhanced the prospects of the Indian Charlie/Caro sire line in the USA.
Uncle Mo's first crop of 165 two-year-olds contains 24 winners from 58 runners, among them seven Stakes Winners including unbeaten three time Group 1 winner NYQUIST, who emulated his sire in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and also Group 1 Alcibiades Stakes winner GOMO.
3 x Gr1 Winner & Champion 2yo in USA - NYQUIST Gr1 Winner - GOMO
His progeny have accumulated just over $3.3 million in earnings to date, a record figure for a North American first-crop sire that eclipses the previous benchmark of $2,811,337 set by Tapit in 2009.
The figure is also a record by North American two-year-old earnings, a championship in which he has an unassailable lead.
To put his dominance into perspective, next best on the first-crop list in 2015 is
First Dude, whose progeny have not yet to hit the million-dollar barrier.
Dermot Ryan, manager at Coolmore’s USA operation Ashford Stud said "He's one of those horses who has ticked the boxes all the way through.
"He has plenty of size, scope and strength. He has quality, good limbs and a very good hindquarter.
"He came off the track with a big reputation, his foals and yearlings looked the part at the sales and then earlier this year, the reports on his two-year-olds were very good."
Buyers liked what they saw of his progeny as his first yearlings realised an average of $108,642 for 106 through the ring.
"Uncle Mo has enjoyed considerable support each year at stud.
In fact, he covered his biggest book in his fourth year," says Ryan.
"There was a buzz around him all the way through, but when the two-year-old guys started asking a bit more of them the word really got out.
"We heard early on that
NYQUIST had a big reputation and Todd Pletcher tells us he has a couple of very good ones who haven't run yet, so there's still a lot to look forward to."
That buzz was certainly evident at the two-year-olds in-training sales, where his progeny sold for up to $725,000.
NYQUIST himself was a pricey youngster, selling for $400,000.
The same connections are also behind
GOMO, who cost $70,000 at the OBS March Sale.
Yet even before either
NYQUIST or GOMO had made their debuts, Uncle Mo was already well on his way to making his presence felt.
His first runner,
Outwork, got the stallion off to the perfect start when successful on his debut at Keeneland in April. Fittingly, he represents the same Repole-Pletcher association as his sire.
On July 25, another Repole-Pletcher flagbearer,
Uncle Vinny, became his first stakes winner albeit on a protest being upheld against Magna Light in the Group 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga.
Others swiftly followed -
NYQUIST took the Group 2 Best Pal Stakes on route to Group 1 glory, while
Uncle Brennie, Mo Tom and Forevamo each landed Listed events.
The latest stakes winner was on Saturday when Lost Raven, bred on the same Elusive Quality cross as
GOMO, took the Smart Halo Stakes by three lengths at Laurel Park.
Her win came the week Uncle Mo was represented by four new maiden special-weight winners.
The question now is whether his progeny will be seen to even greater effect as three-year-olds.
Uncle Mo headed into his three-year-old campaign as the talking horse of his division but his season was interrupted by cholangiohepatitis, a liver condition triggered by stress.
As a result he had to skip the Triple Crown and although he came back to win the Kelso Handicap, he was retired after running down the field in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
"Most of the Uncle Mo’s we've seen have been precocious, speedy types, but we're getting plenty of feedback that trainers expect them to continue to improve and stretch out well," says Ryan.
"Many of his stock are big-framed horses, so I think there will be plenty more to come from them as three-year-olds.
"Looking at Uncle Mo himself, I'm a believer he'd have reached even greater heights as a three-year-old if it wasn't for sickness."
Uncle Mo covered 221 mares this season at a fee of $25,000 and unsurprisingly Coolmore has capitalised on his fast start by increasing his 2016 fee to $75,000.
A significant rise but one that is unlikely to halt his popularity.
CONCHITA - winning on debut at RANDWICK - a daughter of UNCLE MO
Uncle Mo is off to a flying start in Australia as well. He’s had one filly to race to date named CONCHITA who won on debut at Randwick smashing the race record and is being set for the Magic Millions.
Dynamic Syndications will be actively looking for the right Uncle Mo to add to our books at the yearling sales in 2016.