Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie x Playa Maya by Arch), an early favorite for the 2011 Triple Crown series, finally has a medical diagnosis for the nagging illness that has kept him off the trail. The Repole Stables three-year-old is suffering from cholangiohepatitis.
What is cholangiohepatitis?
“Cholangiohepatitis is a severe inflammation of the bile passages and adjacent liver, which sporadically causes hepatic failure in horses and ruminants,” explains the Merck Veterinary Manual. “It is occasionally associated with cholelithiasis in horses.”
The liver inflammation plaguing Uncle Mo is believed to have begun with an unknown bacterial infection. His diagnosis was confirmed by liver and lymphatic biopsies, according to a June 3rd statement by Mike Repole, Uncle Mo’s owner.
Uncle Mo may be back.
Last year’s Eclipse Award winner for top two-year-old horse, Uncle Mo finished third in the 2011 Wood Memorial Stakes, after which trainer Todd Pletcher scratched him from the Kentucky Derby for an apparent gastrointestinal ailment.
The Thoroughbred colt has been recuperating at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, where he is said to have gained nearly 70 pounds in recent weeks. Uncle Mo’s energy and overall health are apparently improving, so his connections have expressed hopes that he may resume racing training later this summer.
In November 2010, Uncle Mo ran away with top honors in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile under jockey John Velasquez.
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