Nyquist paces fast start for first crop sire Uncle Mo

An undefeated champion at two, Uncle Mo displayed everything you could possibly want from a racehorse in his first season on the racetrack. A few years removed from his final career race, the romping winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is bucking to make the same splash as a first crop stallion. Led by Nyquist, the unbeaten winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes, Uncle Mo is the runaway leader of the current first-crop sires list. Both he, and his most successful son to date, will look to add to their already impressive stats in Saturday’s Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes.

Trained by Doug O’Neill, Reddam Racing’s Nyquist looks to be a big favorite in the $300,000 race at Santa Anita, as he has already handled some of his top competition, in Swipe and Blameitonthevoices, with relative ease in the Del Mar Futurity. The FrontRunner does represent a new challenge, though, as the leader of the California juveniles will traverse two turns for the first time on Saturday in the 1 1/16 mile affair.

The bay son of Uncle Mo began his career with a game and gutsy maiden breaker at Santa Anita on June 5. In that head victory over the speed Annie’s Candy, Nyquist stopped the teletimer in a very fast :56.43 for the five furlongs. No horse has come close to him since then, romping over the same competitor, plus Swipe, in the 6 ½ furlong Best Pal at Del Mar August 8, before dominating the prestigious Del Mar Futurity on September 7. Nyquist will once again be ridden by Mario Gutierrez, and will break from the four-hole in the eight-horse FrontRunner field. Keep in mind, last year’s Del Mar Futurity winner went on to easily win the FrontRunner on his way to the Eclipse Award as Champion Male Juvenile. That horse, is of course our first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, American Pharoah. Huge shoes to fill to be sure, but as it stands now, Nyquist is the frontrunner for this year’s Eclipse Award, and he will move that much closer with a win in the FrontRunner.

Besides the impressive early success of Nyquist, other sons and daughters of Uncle Mo (who stands at Coolmore America's Ashford Stud) to have made a splash so far in his first crop of juveniles, include:

Uncle Vinny , a first out winner for Starlight Racing, was the adjudged winner of the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, before finishing third in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes.

Uncle Brennie was the winner of the  Sunday Silence Stakes at Louisiana Downs in his last for trainer Brad Cox, and is currently being pointed to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

The filly Gomo, like Nyquist owned by Paul Reddam and trained by Doug O’Neill, broke her maiden by open lengths on the grass at Santa Anita, before rallying for second in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar.

Thrilled has only started twice so far for trainer Todd Pletcher, but she already has two nice races around two-turns on the turf, winning her debut at Saratoga, before coming back second best in the P.G. Johnson Stakes.