LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Early Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo, scratched on the eve of the big race because of a mysterious intestinal ailment detected after he suffered a shocking defeat in the April 9 Wood Memorial, was sent from Churchill Downs on Monday to Winstar Farm in Versailles, Ky., outside Lexington, for continued treatment and evaluation.
“It makes sense to keep him in the Lexington area, where he will have access to the best veterinary facilities,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “Winstar Farm has a beautiful training facility which includes a hyperbaric chamber and a first-class staff. Our focus is to figure out what is going on internally with him and get him back to 100 percent. When we do figure this out, the horse is already fit so we don’t think it will take him long to get back to his (championship) 2-year-old form.”
Although Uncle Mo remained in training after the Wood, turning in a pair of workouts at Churchill, last Friday Pletcher and owner Mike Repole scratched him from the Derby, greatly concerned because his condition had deteriorated when he was weaned off his medications as the race approached. The team of veterinarians treating him could not detect the cause.
“I’m very worried about the horse,” Repole said when he announced the scratch. “Very worried.”
Monday in a statement, Repole said, “The No. 1 goal is to get Uncle Mo healthy, and I feel very confident with Elliott Walden (president of Winstar) and his team. Todd trains many of Winstar’s horses, and he and Elliott speak on a regular basis. Our second, distant goal when Uncle Mo gets back to the races is for him to be named 3-year-old champion and Horse of the Year.”
After Uncle Mo scratched, his jockey, John Velazquez, picked up the mount on Animal Kingdom, who became Velazquez’s first Derby winner in 13 tries.