Heavily favored Uncle Mo lived up to expectations Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park with a 4 ¾-length victory in the Grade 1, $300,000 Champagne Stakes that was as swift as it was authoritative.
Sent off as the 1-5 favorite in the field of six, the 2-year-old son of Indian Charlie dueled for the early lead with longshot I'm Steppin' It Up through opening fractions of 22.41 and 45.92, and began edging clear after going three-quarters in 1:10.47. Kept to task through the stretch by jockey John Velazquez, Uncle Mo easily opened up on his five rivals, hitting the wire in 1:34.51 for the mile, which tied with Seattle Slew for the second-fastest Champagne at the distance, just a fifth of a second slower than Devil's Bag's 1983 stakes record of 1:34 1/5.