Group 1 colts join Coolmore roster

Top-class juveniles Uncle Mo and Zoffany will join the stallion roster at Coolmore Australia for 2012.

“It’s a tried and trusted theory that the best racehorses make the best sires,” Coolmore Australia general manager Michael Kirwan said. “Uncle Mo was a freak as a two year-old, the best of his generation by some margin, and he has a great outcross pedigree.

“Zoffany, a grandson of Danehill, was a very mature and precocious colt and inherited all the best characteristics of the sireline. He also shares his broodmare sire Machiavellian with the top young sire Shamardal.”

Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) was a brilliant and unbeaten champion two year-old in America, winning his maiden at Saratoga over 1200m by 14 lengths before landing both the G1 Champagne Stakes and G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by more than four lengths.

“I think Uncle Mo’s two year-old season will go down as good or better than any we’ve ever seen,” trainer Todd Pletcher declared. “To do what he did in a short window of time, to run as fast as he did, and do it as impressively as he did was very special.”

As a three year-old, Uncle Mo missed most of the first half of the season due to illness but returned to run a nose second in the G1 King’s Bishop Stakes to subsequent Breeders’ Cup winner Caleb’s Posse before demolishing a strong field of older horses in the G2 Kelso Handicap also over 1400m which earned the highest speed rating of any three year-old in America last year.

Zoffany (Dansili) was the most precocious two year-old of his generation. The Aidan O’Brien trained colt won no less than five races in his first season culminating in a Group 1 success over 1200m in the prestigious Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh in which he showed blistering speed to come from last to first.

As a three year-old, Zoffany came closer to world champion Frankel than any other horse when beaten under a length into second in the G1 St. James’s Palace Stakes over 1600m at Royal Ascot. This was followed by another fine effort when denied on the line by Mutual Trust in the G1 Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly.