The 2-year-old champion's first loss, to a pair of 3-year-olds with minimal credentials in Toby's Corner and Arthur's Tale, was so inexplicable that trainer Todd Pletcher was noncommital about going on to the Derby on May 7.
"We will leave it up to Uncle Mo," said Pletcher, who will keep a close eye on the condition of his prized 3-year-old. "I have no idea."
The son of Indian Charlie did not resemble the colt who flashed brilliance while dominating his first four starts by 27 lengths at four different tracks, leaving his connections searching for an injury or something that might explain the seemingly inexplicable.
Nothing went quite right from the moment Uncle Mo hesitated before entering the starting gate. John Velazquez, the only jockey who has ever been aboard, noted that he never felt comfortable, even as he maintained his customary role as pacesetter and covered the opening three-quarters of a mile in a solid 1:12 1/5 seconds.
"He was pulling the whole way," Velazquez said. "He was never in a relaxed mode."
The Derby's classic 1 1/4-mile distance looms as a huge question mark for Uncle Mo after he showed little punch in the stretch in his first try at 1 1/8 miles.
"When it was time to go again," Velazquez said, "he came flat down the lane."
The result was mind-boggling because the victor, Toby's Corner, was beaten by 4 and 1/4 lengths in finishing third to Stay Thirsty in the Gotham Stakes on March 5. Uncle Mo invariably outworks Stay Thirsty, his stablemate, during morning drills.
"Sometimes horses and athletes have bad days," owner Mike Repole said. "This was a bad day."
Uncle Mo had shown no vulnerability in any of his first four starts. He made a smashing debut, overpowering the field by 14 1/4 lengths last Aug. 28 at New York's Saratoga Race Course.
He handled the leap to Grade 1 competition with ease, dominating the Champagne Stakes by 4 3/4 lengths, before driving to a 4 1/4-length score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs that seemed auspicious at the time.
Interestingly, Pletcher asked little of Uncle Mo in his 3-year-old debut. After initially pointing to the Tampa Bay Derby, he opted for an easier path by electing to run him in the one-mile Timely Writer Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Florida on March 12. That race amounted to nothing more than a vigorous workout as the colt led gate-to-wire in prevailing by 3 3/4 lengths.
The Derby suddenly becomes a contest without a clear-cut favorite. Premier Pegasus and Jaycito, the top two choices earlier this week in the Santa Anita Derby, were scratched due to injuries, muddling the picture before Uncle Mo's flop.
Dialed In, the last-to-first victor in the Florida Derby, could replace Uncle Mo as the favorite. The Factor, who is expected to go off as the top choice in next Saturday's Arkanas Derby, also could inherit that role if he runs to lofty expectations.
Trainer H. Graham Motion admitted he had never considered running Toby's Corner in the Run for the Roses — until now.
"It's obviously a very wide open group," he said, "and I kind of think he ranks right up there with the top ones."
