Beyer on Mo in Classic: Bold but ill-advised

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Uncle Mo is about as well spotted as the similarly campaigned French Deputy was in '95. At least he doesn't have to run against Cigar.

I know what you are trying to say by comparing those two horses, but the circumstances are vastly different.

[Calzone Lord]

If So You Think wins this race -- it will add to what has been a brutal on-going drought of consistant top class male dirt horses since Curlin retired.

[pmayjr]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

If So You Think wins this race -- it will add to what has been a brutal on-going drought of consistant top class male dirt horses since Curlin retired.

Not saying he's as good as Curlin, but I really was disappointed when Tizway was scratched/retired. If he races/won, people will say he beat a highly inferior field, still you could make a case that the horse was halfway decent.

I'll watch the race but would rather watch turds hit the water than read another article mentioning Uncle Mo and Havre de Grace. Spare me the polishing of said turds.

[NTamm1215]

I didn't cash a ticket on the Classic. However, I am completely confident in saying running Uncle Mo in it was one of the worst decisions made by top connections in the history of the Breeders' Cup. Rarely will you see a horse with such a scant resume compete in the BCC.

It capped a truly memorable weekend for Todd Pletcher, that's for sure.

[RockHardTen1985]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

I didn't cash a ticket on the Classic. However, I am completely confident in saying running Uncle Mo in it was one of the worst decisions made by top connections in the history of the Breeders' Cup. Rarely will you see a horse with such a scant resume compete in the BCC.

It capped a truly memorable weekend for Todd Pletcher, that's for sure.

Where did Mo belong then? This was the race for him, and he did not get it done. Pretty simple, he had no excuse. I for one was wrong about him.

[Danzig]

no, it wasn't the race for him. they threw him in at 10f for the first time ever, vs older at the same time. off two races that didn't exactly prepare him for 1 1 /4 miles.
he beat stay thirsty and headache, which i find interesting. repole might want to consider a new trainer. bill mott maybe??

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

I didn't cash a ticket on the Classic. However, I am completely confident in saying running Uncle Mo in it was one of the worst decisions made by top connections in the history of the Breeders' Cup. Rarely will you see a horse with such a scant resume compete in the BCC.

It capped a truly memorable weekend for Todd Pletcher, that's for sure.

A slug like 104 won the Classic. If I would have told you that all Uncle Mo had to run was a 103 to be a length from winning the Classic would you have suggested that it was impossible a week ago? It's a 5 million dollar race, its the championship event of the year and a colt you think is superior to everything in the race is feeling OK and excelled on that same(sort of) surface 52 weeks ago.
He failed miserably and hindsight is always 20/20. Also the idea that he is less likely to be good next year because he ran an extra 2f's is beyond crazy.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by freddymo

A slug like 104 won the Classic. If I would have told you that all Uncle Mo had to run was a 103 to be a length from winning the Classic would you have suggested that it was impossible a week ago? It's a 5 million dollar race, its the championship event of the year and a colt you think is superior to everything in the race is feeling OK and excelled on that same(sort of) surface 52 weeks ago.
He failed miserably and hindsight is always 20/20. Also the idea that he is less likely to be good next year because he ran an extra 2f's is beyond crazy.

It was a horrible spot for him Freddy and the Beyer figure for the winner has nothing to do with it. Whether you believed his subsequent life-threatening affliction was what kept him from "getting" the 9fs of the Wood Memorial, it was a race that exposed some potential distance limitations.

His King's Bishop effort was terrific but it was at a trip that was ideal for him. The Kelso was another very strong effort but came as a result of setting a very soft pace on a track that favored horses with his style. Now, off of those two races, he is entered in the Classic? He had no seasoning whatsoever to be in that race.

[Dunbar]

In addition to making a good case for Uncle Mo to be a bet-against, Beyer made a nice call in isolating Hansen as a pick in the Juvenile.

from Beyer's 11/3 column in DRF:

Hansen, winner of his two starts at Turfway Park, could do it. When he captured the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, he beat negligible competition and earned a moderate speed figure. But he scored his front-running victory after setting a blazing pace that was a full second faster than the half-mile fraction in a Grade 2 stakes race for older males on the same card. Hansen is quick enough to jump out to an uncontested lead in the Juvenile. I’ll bet him in an exacta box with Union Rags and use only the two of them in pick threes.

--Dunbar

[Danzig]

excellent job by beyer there.
i thought the bcj was the best race of the day.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

I know what you are trying to say by comparing those two horses, but the circumstances are vastly different.

I was talking from simply a training standpoint, which relies significantly on the time factor. Both were off from March to late summer. Each had 2 one-turn comeback races leading up to a 10f attempt.

The rest of it you can compare in a number of ways. For example, both earned the highest BSF (119 and 118 respectively) of any 3yo that year in one of those comeback races. The big difference is that French Deputy pulled out his top Beyer in his first start back (the Jerome), while Uncle Mo unleashed his in his second (the Kelso).

French Deputy, not surprising, deflated quite a bit and got beat in his second start, a money allowance. What does that suggest for Uncle Mo in his next out (the BC Classic) following his career top?