Uncle Mo made the morning line favourite, as Jackson Bend awaits the 2010 champion in the Kelso Handicap
The Todd Pletcher trained and Mike Repole owned champ, Uncle Mo, has been made the 4 to 5 morning-line favourite to win the Grade 2 $200,000 Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park, where he will face four other runners in the one turn, one mile race.
The son of Indian Charlie drew post number 3, and the King’s Bishop Stakes' runner-up will look to win the Kelso Handicap to earn a berth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on 5 November at Churchill Downs.
Out of Playa Maya by Arch, Uncle Mo has all the assets to bring back glory to his name, especially being built strong that helped him wave off the effects of his disease by a solid performance in his last start.
After a series of sharp workout sessions, it seems the colt is back to being the horse he was when he earned the champion status last year.
However, Uncle Mo is going to face older horses for the first time in his 2-year racing career, and he will go into a tangle with the most prominent out of the five horse field, the red hot Jackson Bend.
The Nicholas Zito trained, son of Hear no Evil, 4-year-old colt, Jackson Bend, is coming off two wins in a row, defeating his rivals in the James Marvin Stakes at Saratoga on 22 July, at about seven furlongs.
Under jockey C Nakatani, Jackson Bend marked his 2011 Saratoga summer meet with a win and then landing another win in his next start, the Grade 1 Forego Stakes.
The seven furlongs' sprint was easily topped in 1 minute and 22.08 seconds on 3 September, 2011, at Saratoga, and he would be the only one to stop Uncle Mo in the Kelso Handicap.
On the other hand, in Uncle Mo’s last start at Belmont Park, he pulled off a sensational win in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes, where he defeated Mountain Town by 4 ¾ lengths.
With a strong performance in the King’s Bishop coming off the bench, where he got nosed out by Caleb’s Posse, Uncle Mo is looking sharp and will give the Kelso field a tough time.
Tags: