Starlet exacta showcases Uncle Mo's strength as juvenile sire

Uncle Mo shattered records as he led the freshman sire list in 2015, and is now reaping some of the results of that early success. Uncle Mo's current juveniles are those conceived in spring 2016 following the success of his first runners, and he has ridden that wave to a solid third on the North American juvenile sire list, illustrated when his daughters Bast and Donna Veloce swept the exacta in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

Uncle Mo, who stands at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., led not only the freshman list but also the overall juvenile sire list in 2015, with a bankroll of $3,632,314. The success was powered by Nyquist, who capped an unbeaten campaign with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The earnings were a North American freshman-season record, shattering the $2,811,337 amassed in 2008 by future supersire Tapit.

Uncle Mo’s fee tripled from $25,000 in 2015 to $75,000 in 2016, and his book of mares also jumped – from 221 to 256, with a presumable rise in quality as well off his freshman success. The resulting foals are now juveniles, and Uncle Mo sits third among Kentucky sires on the juvenile sire earnings list, following leading general sire Into Mischief and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, who has been a breakout freshman success. Uncle Mo has 21 winners from 68 starters in the category through Saturday for earnings of $2,326,457, and the top three stallions on the list are separated by less than $570,000.

Uncle Mo’s leading juvenile is Bast, who was a $500,000 yearling purchase by the Baoma Corp. of Charles and Susan Chu. The filly, trained by Bob Baffert, was second on debut at Del Mar before winning consecutive Grade 1 events, taking the Del Mar Debutante in August and the Chandelier at Santa Anita. She finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, then bounced back for a third Grade 1 on the season, outdueling Donna Veloce by a half-length to win the Starlet.

Donna Veloce was an $800,000 purchase earlier this year by Kaleem Shah out of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, and lived up to that billing by drawing away to win her debut by 9 1/4 lengths for trainer Simon Callaghan. She immediately jumped into deep waters, finishing a creditable second by a neck in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies to British Idiom before her runner-up effort against Bast.