2011 Breeders Cup: Uncle Mo No Safe Bet to Win Classic

Uncle Mo is among a handful of favorites to win the 2011 Breeders' Cup Classic and the bulk of the $5 million purse that comes with it.

But gamblers and horse racing fans alike need not apply when it comes to dropping their cash on this Todd Pletcher entry.

There's no doubt that Uncle Mo is a specimen to behold on the race track. The three-year-old colt demonstrated his exceptional talent by winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs last year, a victory that made him a horse to watch, perhaps even as a threat to claim the Triple Crown.

Unfortunately for Pletcher and Repole Stable, little has gone right for Uncle Mo since then. He suffered through a case of cholangiohepatitis, a rare liver disease, that sapped him of his strength, his weight and, subsequently, his chance to compete for the Triple Crown.

Uncle Mo was held out of competition for several months to recover from his ailment and looked pretty good upon his return, losing by a nose at Saratoga in August. His brilliance was on full display at the Kelso Stakes, where he notched a convincing victory while running the fastest mile of any horse in a competition this year.

So why wouldn't Uncle Mo run in the Classic with that sort of rousing performance at Belmont Park on his back hoof?

With all that time missed due to illness, Uncle Mo has hardly had enough time to prepare for the challenge that a mile-and-a-quarter race like the Classic will represent. He's had only two races since the spring in which to prepare for this one, the first at seven furlongs and the second at a mile.

By contrast, Havre de Grace, one of the other top contenders to win the Classic, has run six times since the spring, all of which have exceeded the one-mile mark, and come up with five wins in the process.

That's not to say that Uncle Mo can't win this race. He's still as talented as any horse in the field and could very well draw on that ability to overcome the clear lack of preparation leading up to this weekend's big race.

Rather, Uncle Mo is not the clear favorite that he probably would have been had he not endured so many setbacks and been given more time, and more races, to build up to the Classic. Had Pletcher entered Uncle Mo in, say, the Dirt Mile, then he'd be the clear favorite.

Or, if this were 2012, and Uncle Mo had enjoyed the benefits of a full schedule, then he'd be a good bet.

But not this year, and certainly not under these circumstances.