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Grade 1 Winner Mo Forza Retired To Rancho San Miguel In California

Mo Forza, a Grade 1 winner and $1-million-plus earner by the very popular sire of sires Uncle Mo, has been retired from racing and will commence his stallion career in 2022 at Rancho San Miguel in Calif., as the property of Taylor Made Stallions and Onofrio Pecoraro.

The 5-year-old horse will make history on two important fronts: as Kentucky-based industry leader Taylor Made Farm's first foray into California's breeding industry and as the first son of Uncle Mo—North America's 2010 champion 2-year-old colt and the sire of the Grade 1-siring stallions Nyquist and Laoban—to stand on the West Coast.

Mo Forza's introductory fee is $9,000, live foal stand and nurse guarantee. A syndication is being formed, with a limited number of shares available.

Campaigned by Bardy Farm and Pecoraro's San Diego-based OG Boss stable, Mo Forza won eight of 15 starts and earned $1,034,460 as one of North America's top turf milers over the past three seasons. His seven graded stakes victories include the 2019 Grade 1 Hollywood Derby and the 2020-2021 editions of the G2 Del Mar Mile at Del Mar, as well as four Grade 2 races at Santa Anita Park: the 2020-2021 City of Hope Mile Stakes, 2019 Qatar Twilight Derby and 2019 Mathis Brothers Mile Stakes.

He is the first foal out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed, a full sister to Grade 2 winner and 2011 California Champion 3-Year-Old Male Burns and to Grade 1-placed multiple winner Brushburn.

“Mo Forza was born and raised at Taylor Made, and we have loved him from the very beginning” said Taylor Made Stallions Vice President Ben Taylor. “He is a big, strong, good-looking horse who ran four triple-digit Beyers and showed tremendous heart in winning seven graded races on the grass. As brilliantly as he trained on dirt, we have no doubt that he would have accomplished just as much on that surface if he had been given the opportunity.

“We are looking forward to participating in the lucrative California-bred program with this outstanding stallion prospect,” Taylor added. “We believe Mo Forza is the right horse at the right time for us to launch our entry into the California breeding industry.”

Pecoraro will remain as a co-owner in Mo Forza and will support him with several high-quality mares.

“We have been looking for a son of Uncle Mo to offer to California breeders, and Mo Forza was number one on our list,” said Rancho San Miguel owner/manager Tom Clark. “In addition to winning seven graded races here in California, he is out of a daughter of our state's all-time leading sire, Unusual Heat. He is also a direct male descendant of another multiple leading California sire, In Excess (Ire), through his Grade 1-winning, California-bred grandsire, the great Indian Charlie. He is a perfect fit here.”

“Mo Forza's name translates roughly from Italian to 'more strength,' and that is precisely what I believe he offers to California's breeding and racing program,” Clark said. “We are thrilled to partner with Taylor Made and Mr. Pecoraro on this exciting new venture.”

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Miller: Sidelined Mo Forza ‘Doing Really Well,’ Eyes Return In 60 Days

Mo Forza, who missed the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland last Nov. 7 due to “a minor setback,” is recovering and expected to resume his racing career, trainer Peter Miller reports.

“He's doing really well,” said Miller, who enjoys singular success utilizing serene surroundings at the Bonsall training facility San Luis Rey Downs in California's San Diego County. “He looks fantastic and we'll probably bring him back in another 60 days or so.”

Mo Forza, a 5-year-old son of Uncle Mo, had won six of his last seven starts including the G2 City of Hope Mile on grass at Santa Anita last Oct. 3 and Del Mar's G1 Hollywood Derby on Nov. 30, 2019.

He was bred in Kentucky by the late Barry Abrams, who also owned a share of the bay with Onofrio Pecoraro. He races as OG Boss; Abrams campaigned as Bardy Farm.

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‘Bad Timing’: Mo Forza Knocked Out Of Breeders’ Cup Mile

Mo Forza, if not the favorite for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile certainly a sentimental favorite, will miss the race at Keeneland on Nov. 7 due to a minor issue, trainer Peter Miller told Santa Anita officials by telephone Saturday morning.

“If all goes well, we'll run in the Breeders' Cup next year at Del Mar,” the trainer said.

“What happened is just bad timing. I think he's the best turf miler in the world and I'm disappointed he won't be able to prove it this year.”

Mo Forza was owned in part by the estate of former trainer Barry Abrams, who died on Oct. 9 after a 15-year battle with cancer.

Abrams, who campaigned as Bardy Farm, also bred Mo Forza.

“This horse kept Barry going,” Miller said. “It gave him something to look forward to.

“It meant a lot to Barry and meant a lot to me, so we were crossing our fingers and hoping he could 'Win One for The Gipper.'”

A 4-year-old Uncle Mo colt also owned by part by Onofrio Pecoraro who races as OG Boss, Mo Forza had won six of his last seven races including the G1 Hollywood Derby last Nov. 30 and the G2 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita on Oct. 3, his most recent outing.

The Kentucky-bred bay has a 6-3-1 record from 12 starts with earnings of $734,460.

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Mo Forza Makes Sparkling Return In Del Mar Mile Handicap

Bardy Farm and OG Boss' Mo Forza, making his first start in seven months, looked like he'd never been away as he powered past a good field of turfers in capturing the $152,000 Del Mar Mile Sunday at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif.

The 4-year-old colt by top stallion Uncle Mo out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed, scored by 4 1/4 lengths under Flavien Prat in the good time of 1:33.27 for the mile and, as the 6-5 favorite, paid $4.40, $3.00 and $2.40 across the board. He is trained by Peter Miller.

This was the 34th running of the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile and it rewarded its winner with a purse of $90,000, pushing his bankroll to $614,460. The bay has now won five of his 11 starts, four of those victories coming in stakes races, including the Hollywood Derby last fall at Del Mar.

“Peter (trainer Miller) and I talked before the race and we noted that there looked like a lot of speed in the race,” said Prat. “That turned out true. He told me he took his blinkers off and he was hoping for the best. I had a good trip; my horse was relaxed. Then, when I say 'Go,' he had a really strong response.”

“That gave me goose pimples,” said Miller. “I was just hoping I had him tight enough and ready to perform. These were a good group of horses, but he's exceptional. To see this horse back in the winner's circle is really exciting. He had a tendency to get rank in his races last year and wanted to run over horses, so we thought we didn't want that problem this year so we took the blinkers off. He's been working without them and I thought that if it doesn't work out I'm going to look like an idiot, but thank goodness it worked out. We think the Breeders' Cup will definitely be the end of the year with one race in between.”

Bardy Farm is the nom du course for former trainer and breeder Barry Abrams, who raced horses for many years with great success on the Southern California circuit. He is home battling cancer these days but this horse – who Abrams also bred – had to pick his head up for sure. His partner in the colt is Onofrio Pecoraro of San Diego.

Finishing second in the feature was Kelly Brinkerhoff and Bog Grayson, Jr.'s Restrainedvengence and third was Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farm's Royal Ship.

The riding and training stars of the day were Prat and Miller, who combined to win three races on the 11-race card. Besides Mo Forza they also clicked with Querelle ($4.60) in the 2nd Race and Worthy Turk ($8.20) in the 7th. Prat is now second-leading rider at the meet with 34 wins after 19 days of racing. Miller leads the trainers' list with 18 firsts. Prat has been Del Mar's top rider on three different occasions, while Miller has been the leading conditioner seven times.

The stakes win was the 10th of the meet for rider Prat, but his first in the Del Mar Mile. He now has 54 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the third of the meet for trainer Miller, but his first in the Del Mar Mile. He now has 32 stakes wins at Del Mar.

Nobody could solve the Pick Six mystery on Sunday resulting in a $89,465 carryover and a $19,171 Jackpot carryover when racing resumes Friday at Del Mar starting at 2 p.m.

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