Mo was awesome, Brethren not so much

Yes people will say that he didn't beat much. Yes people say the final time was slow. However, it wasn't who he beat or how fast he ran the final time what made Uncle Mo impressive in yesterday's Timely Writer. It was how he did it. After a bump at the begging of the race, Mo went right to the lead. He did have a little challenge from Rattlesnake Bridge, but he was no match for Indian Charlie's Champion son. He galloped out beautifully as well. So what is next for Mo, "Uncle Todd" (trainer Todd Pletcher), and "Uncle Mike" (owner Mike Repole), most likely back to New York and the Wood Memorial. I wasn't a big believer before, and while I'm still not 100% on how well he'll do, I'm getting closer in believing in him. Here is the race:



While Mo had no problems with his field at Gulfstream, Brethren wasn't so lucky at Tampa. After hitting the stretch run what looked to be too early, Super Saver's little brother was run down by two longshots. The West Acre colt Watch Me Go was the upset winner over Crimson Knight and Brethren in third. It didn't help that Ramon Dominguez gave 2 stakes winners 2 bad rides (he gave Pluck a horrible ride his first prep for the 2,000 French Guineas). My guess is if Pletcher wants to follow the same prep plan that he did last year with SS, the Arkansas Derby which SS was second in will be next for Brethren. As for the winner, he'll need to prove himself if he wants to run with the likes of Uncle Mo, Soldat and others in his next race.

Here is Watch Me Go's win:



Meanwhile in California, Premier Pegasus showed that he is the real deal with an uber impressive win in the San Felipe. The Fusaichi Pegasus colt emulated his sire in winning the final prep for the SA Derby. 11 years ago on this upcoming Saturday, FuPeg won the San Felipe on his way to win the Kentucky Derby. While Pre Peg was great, Jaycito was just as good in coming from last to second. It will be a very interesting SA Derby.

While Bob Baffert must have been pleased with his new charge Jaycito's performance (considering how well Pre Peg ran), he was also concerned about Always a Princess who defeated Blind Luck in the last two legs of the La Canada series. In yesterday's Santa Margarita, the Leroidesmeux filly set the pace and was backing up as the race was ending. Sadly she had fallen at the wire, and TVG misreported that she was euthanized. As of last night, she was scheduled for surgery tomorrow (got this from Thoroughbred Champions forum), while her racing career is over, hopefully her life can be saved.

In Oaks news, Kathmanblu may finally have found a challenger. Joyful Victory won the Honeybee. Next up for her, the Fantasy during the Racing Festival weekend. That race has produced the past 3 years 2 Oaks winners, a Derby runner up, a Preakness winner, 2 Three Year Old Fillies Champions and a Horse of the Year. Of course I'm talking about Eight Belles, Rachel Alexandra and Blind Luck. In matter of fact, Joyful is compared to her late ownershipmate. I don't think it's a fair comparison because they are two completly different horses.

I will be having a post tomorrow on the Gulfstream Park Handicap winner. Why does he get his own post? Well he's about to get the respect that he rightfully deserves.

Finally, my heart goes out to those in Japan which recently suffered an 8.9 earthquake and tsunami. From what I've heard the horse racing indurstry was not that effected by what had happened due to the location of most of the farms. However, some of the training centers did recieve minimal damage I believe. I highly recommend reading Keiblog for more information.