WinStar Farm added two new stallions to its 2017 roster with the recent retirement of Uncle Mo’s Grade 1-winning 3-year-old Outwork and Speightstown’s Graded stakes-winning son Speightster.
“Outwork and Speightster are as close to Uncle Mo and Speightstown as you will find when you look at the combination of their overall quality, physical traits, and racing traits in relation to their sires,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar President & CEO. “Speightstown is emerging as a sire of sires, and Speightster is closely related to Smart Strike and bred just like him. Most would expect Uncle Mo to have successful sons at stud, and Outwork looks like a carbon copy. So these are two very exciting new stallion prospects that will have the full support of some of the top breeders in the world, including WinStar and our partners Mike Repole and Woodford Thoroughbreds on Outwork. Both horses also figure to be priced in the market to be accessible for a wide range of breeders.”
Outwork becomes the first Grade 1 winner by sire sensation Uncle Mo to retire to stud, after capturing Aqueduct’s $1 million Wood Memorial (G1) at 1 1/8 miles earlier this year to become a top contender for the Kentucky Derby. He also became his sire’s first winner as a 2-year-old when he impressively broke his maiden first-time out going 4 ½ furlongs during the 2015 Keeneland Spring meet.
In only his third start, Outwork was a good runner-up to Destin in a record-breaking renewal of the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) back in March, setting all of the pace before yielding by a length late. The final time of 1:42.82 established a new track record at Tampa Bay Downs, eclipsing Street Sense’s previous mark of 1:43.11 from that colt’s win in the 2007 Tampa Bay Derby.
“Outwork has always reminded me so much of Uncle Mo,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “Both are big colts with similar qualities, including their uncanny speed and precociousness for their size. Both were always very forward in the mornings and among the best work horses in the barn, and obviously they both went on to do great things stretching out their speed to win major Grade 1 races.”
Bred and owned by Repole Stable, Outwork retires with earnings of $701,800. He is out of the Grade 1-placed Empire Maker mare Nonna Mia, a half-sister to multiple Grade 2 winner Cairo Prince.
Speightster retires to WinStar as one of the fastest and best-bred sons of his emerging sire of sires Speightstown. The chestnut colt became a TDN Rising Star after an eye-grabbing seven-length debut win at Keeneland, and backed it up with a dominating 3 ½-length victory over Grade 2 winner Joking in his next start in a Belmont Allowance race.
In just his third start, Speightster remained undefeated and unchallenged at his third different distance and third different class level, capturing the one-mile, $500,000 Dwyer S. (G3) for 3-year-olds by an authoritative 2 ½ lengths over Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Texas Red. The final time of 1:35 flat earned Speightster a 104 Beyer, which marked one of the fastest Beyers from a vintage crop of 3-year-olds at the time of the performance.
“Speightster was an extremely fast and talented horse,” said trainer Bill Mott. “He really reminded me a lot of another colt I had from that sire line, Elusive Quality. Both had brilliant speed and a rare ability to carry it over a mile.”
A WinStar homebred, Speightster hails from the Danzig mare Dance Swiftly, a full sister to champion Dance Smartly and half-sister to champion sire Smart Strike.
Stud fees for Outwork and Speightster will be announced at a later date. For more information about Outwork or Speightster, please contact Kyle Wilson, Sean Tugel, or Caroline Walsh at 859-873-1717, or visit WinStarFarm.com.
