(Reuters) – Uncle Mo, the two-year-old champion in 2010 who finished 10th in this year’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, has been retired from racing, the Daily Racing Form (DRF) said yesterday.
The decision to retire Uncle Mo was made Sunday after blood tests showed one of the colt’s enzymes was elevated, a problem he had experienced earlier this year and led to him missing the Kentucky Derby.
“We don’t want to continue down this road where he’s going to get ill again,” owner Mike Repole told the DRF on Monday. “The vets did say that the stress and rigors of training could always bring about this elevated (enzyme).”
The elevated enzyme led to the diagnosis of liver disease in the son of Indian Charlie.
After more than three months away from the races, Uncle Mo was rounding into shape and considered a threat to win the $5 million Classic at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
The Kentucky-bred winner of last year’s Breeders’ Juvenile was in second place for most of the Classic before tiring badly in the last quarter-mile.
