Uncle Chuck gets to next level in Los Alamitos Derby win

CYPRESS, Calif. – Uncle Chuck is being asked to come a long ways in a short amount of time, but on Saturday, “We saw what we needed to go to the next step,” said his trainer, Bob Baffert.

Uncle Chuck, making only the second start of his career after beating maidens last month at Santa Anita, turned back his more experienced stablemate Thousand Words in upper stretch and then drew away in the final furlong to score a four-length victory in the Grade 3, $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby going 1 1/8 miles.

The win was worth 20 points on the system Churchill Downs uses to determine the field for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, which is Uncle Chuck’s obvious goal. He’ll have one more start prior to that, the timing of which pretty much boils it down to the Shared Belief at Del Mar on Aug. 1 or the Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 8, though Baffert was non-committal in the immediate aftermath of the race.

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What he was more concerned with was seeing if Uncle Chuck would validate the high regard in which he is held. He won his debut on June 12 going a mile while earning a strong Beyer Speed Figure of 95. Off that, he was favored at 2-5 on Saturday. He paid $2.80 to win.

“He came back looking like he was still full of himself,” Baffert said after Uncle Chuck left the winner’s circle. “It’s exciting. He’s still learning, but he’s learning quickly. He has brilliance.”

Uncle Chuck, starting from the outside post in a field of four, sat second in the early going behind pacesetting Great Power, who led the field through splits of 22.76 seconds for the quarter and 47.15 for the half. Uncle Chuck, under Luis Saez, moved to the lead entering the elongated stretch at Los Alamitos, and was immediately challenged by Thousand Words.

But Uncle Chuck disposed of his stablemate leaving the furlong grounds and drew away while swapping leads, betraying his lack of experience, with about a sixteenth to go. He was timed in 1:47.65 for 1 1/8 miles on the fast main track.

“He’s pretty green, but he jumps a long ways,” Baffert said.

Thousand Words finished seven lengths in front of third-place Cosmo. Great Power tired to finish last. The original field of five was reduced when Anneau d’Or was scratched on Saturday morning.

Uncle Chuck is a son of Uncle Mo out of the Unbridled’s Song mare Forest Music, whose offspring include the successful stallion Maclean’s Music.

“He’s bred to be any kind,” Baffert said. “He showed something pretty special.”

Uncle Chuck was purchased as a yearling by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, and is named for Pegram’s uncle.

Those owners also campaign with Baffert the older horse McKinzie, who finished fifth in the Met Mile about 30 minutes before the Los Alamitos Derby. Mike Smith, who rode Uncle Chuck in his debut, was in New York for that race, which is why Saez was deputized Saturday.

“He could have taken the lead at any time, but I told him if another horse inside him wanted the lead to let him go,” Baffert said. “Today was a good day to school him.”

Both Saez and Uncle Chuck passed the class.