NEW YORK TO THE BREEDERS' CUP: UNCLE MO AND STAY THIRSTY

**This is part of a series that will profile the top New York-based contenders heading to the Breeders’ Cup. Please see the attached photos of Uncle Mo and Stay Thirsty. Credit NYRA, Adam Coglianese**

 

Saturday, October 23, 2010

 

Contact: Jon Forbes

jforbes@nyrainc.com

 

NEW YORK TO THE BREEDERS’ CUP: UNCLE MO AND STAY THIRSTY

 

ELMONT, N.Y. – Mike Repole, a native of Queens, may not have achieved his childhood dream of becoming general manager for the New York Mets, but his racing operation has found two franchise players in Uncle Mo and Stay Thirsty, both leading contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs on November 6.

 

Uncle Mo, whose name is a slang term for “momentum,” couldn’t have a better moniker as he gave Repole, New York’s leading owner in 2009 with 51 wins, his first graded stakes victory when he captured the Grade 1 Champagne by 4 ¾ lengths at Belmont Park on October 9.

 

“Uncle Mo is not only a term I’ve used in sports, but I’ve used it in business,” said Repole, who is the co-founder and former president of Glacéau, maker of Vitaminwater and Smartwater, and is now the chairman and majority owner of Pirate Brands, maker of Pirate’s Booty, and Energy Kitchen, a healthy fast food chain. “With Vitaminwater in 2004, 2005, and 2006, we had Uncle Mo on our side. Pirate’s Booty is up 200%: Uncle Mo is on Pirate’s Booty side. Energy Kitchen is up 300%: Uncle Mo is on Energy Kitchen’s side.”

 

Expectations were high for the Indian Charlie colt from the beginning, but Repole said he initially couldn’t comprehend the significance of Uncle Mo’s dominant debut victory at Saratoga Race Course on Travers Day.

 

“I was impressed, but I don’t know the sport as well as other people and I didn’t really get it at first,” admitted Repole. “People said, ‘Dude, this is Saratoga. You won by 14 ¾ lengths. He ran faster than the [Grade 3] Victory Ride. He stole Travers day.’ For a maiden to steal Travers day didn’t really sink in to me at first.”

 

It was off to the Champagne with Uncle Mo, and that day started well for Repole, who won the opening race with Run to Grand Avenue, named for the OTB he frequented while growing up, and Gerard Loves Beer, one of his many horses named after a family member.

 

“I was concerned after I won the first two races,” said Repole. “I said, ‘If I win two claiming races and lose a Grade 1 with a 1/5…God can’t play this cruel of a trick on me.’ I would have thrown up if Uncle Mo lost, to be honest with you.”

 

But everything went according to plan, with Uncle Mo winning the Champagne in 1:34.51, tying Seattle Slew for the second-fastest Champagne at the one-mile distance.

 

“Even though we’re going to the Breeders’ Cup, there is no more of a special feeling than to win a Grade 1 in New York, my first Grade 1, at a place where I’d go when I was 13 and do it with 40 friends and family there,” said Repole.

 

While the media have mostly focused on Uncle Mo, Repole sees Stay Thirsty, second in the Grade 1 Three Chimneys Hopeful to Boys At Tosconova, as a critical member of his stable’s roster.

 

“I own two juvenile colts, probably in the top five in the country, and everyone is talking about Uncle Mo,” said Repole. “I call Stay Thirsty ‘Rodney Dangerfield’ because he gets no respect. There aren’t too many owners in the world who wouldn’t want to own Stay Thirsty.”

 

Having a powerful 1-2 punch in the Juvenile will maximize Repole’s chances of leaving Churchill Downs a winner on November 6, and any other outcome would be abhorrent to the owner.

 

“I consider myself to be the biggest sore loser you’ll ever meet,” said Repole. “I can’t do anything and not be competitive, whether it’s miniature golf or Scrabble. I named a horse Winaholic. What is a Winaholic? Somebody who is addicted to winning. Whether it’s Pirate’s Booty, Energy Kitchen, or Vitaminwater, I want to win and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

 

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