LOUISVILLE, (Reuters) – The Kentucky Derby lost one of its major drawcards yesterday when Uncle Mo was scratched from the $2.2 million classic on the eve of the race because of a mystery illness.
Uncle Mo’s trainer Todd Pletcher decided to withdraw the colt after consulting with three veterinarians who could not work out exactly what was wrong with him.
“I am very, very, very, very disappointed about this. I don’t think I’ve ever had a horse as good as Uncle Mo,” said Pletcher, who won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Super Saver.
“We’ve had every resource to try to get this horse right but we’re not there and I take this as a personal failure.”
Uncle Mo was the early favourite to capture the first leg of the Triple Crown after establishing himself as last year’s best two-year-old in North America, capping an unbeaten season with a breathtaking win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on the same Churchill Downs track as Saturday’s race.
But things suddenly started to unravel
