Uncontested not sneaking up on foes in General George

In December, a rookie trainer with three wins to her credit shipped a horse from the Thoroughbred Training Center outside Lexington, Ky., to Laurel Park for his first start in nine months. Dismissed at 16-1 against six opponents in a high-level optional-claiming sprint, Uncontested lived up to his name by blasting to a daylight lead and cruising to a one-sided, six-length victory.

On Saturday, Uncontested will be taken much more seriously in the Grade 3, $250,000 General George, the co-feature at Laurel along with the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie on the five-stakes Winter Carnival card.

Uncontested's December score was reminiscent of his early races. As a 2-year-old in 2016, he won his debut at the Keeneland fall meet by six lengths for Wayne Catalano. Following a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, he began his 3-year-old season with a 5 1/4-length romp in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

But his 2017 campaign sputtered, and he started 2018 with three losses before being sent to the sidelines. He was legged up for his return over the summer as part of Steve Asmussen's Kentucky division and in November was turned over to trainer Jennifer Patterson, who put the finishing touches on Uncontested and sent him to Laurel.

"We expected a good race, but not necessarily that," Patterson said. "He came out of the race very well, with a lot of confidence. He's a smart horse and after he won his eyes really brightened up and he put on some weight."

Patterson currently has seven horses. She is assisted by former rider Tyler Pizarro, a winner of more than 600 races – 550 at Woodbine – and Gabby D'Alessandro, the daughter of New York horseman Ralph D'Alessandro.

Uncontested needs a lot of personal attention, which Patterson and her crew make sure he receives.

"He has some pretty serious allergy stuff going on," Patterson said. "He's allergic to all kinds of stuff but mostly dust and dirt. We power wash his stall just about every week. He has inhalers, a nebulizer. The key is to keep the mucous down."

Patterson grew up in Delaware and is the daughter of former steeplechase rider, trainer, and longtime racing official Duncan Patterson. Since 2012, Duncan Patterson has been chairman of the Delaware Racing Commission. He is a former chairman of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

"[My parents] were training horses on the farm before I was born," Jennifer Patterson said. "I was riding horses at age 3, fox hunting at 5, and galloping horses at 10."

Patterson worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey from 2006-14. She was the regular exercise rider of 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb and other top horses in McGaughey's stable, including Point of Entry, Honor Code, and Imagining.

In 2014, Patterson ran McGaughey's barn at the Fair Hill Training Center. She ultimately got itchy to take on new challenges.

"I'd been an assistant for quite a while and just decided to take a step back," she said.

Patterson worked with Charlie LoPresti, Brendan Walsh, and Victoria Oliver in Kentucky. While with LoPresti, Patterson was the rider of two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan when he was being prepared to make a comeback in the 2015 Woodbine Mile. A minor injury a week before the race forced him into retirement.

"It was an honor to get on him," she said.

Uncontested was purchased for $20,000 as a yearling at the 2015 Keeneland Sepetmber sale by Harry Rosenblum, who has campaigned such good horses as 2015 Smarty Jones and Southwest stakes winner Far Right, Gentlemen's Bet, and Whitmore. Rosenblum owns Uncontested with Robert LaPenta.

When Patterson started her stable, Rosenblum was the first to send her horses. So far, she has a 4-3-1 record from 17 starts. The General George would be her first stakes win.

"It's exciting," Patterson said. "It's kind of my hometown. My parents will be there, and the horse deserves it. He is fast."