Young Florida stallion Uncle Chuck was humanely euthanized Dec. 22 after the 6-year-old son of Uncle Mo was discovered to have an untreatable form of lymphoma, Journeyman Stud near Ocala reported Dec. 31.
Uncle Chuck entered stud at Brent and Crystal Fernung’s Journeyman Stud in 2022. He was a half brother to prominent Kentucky sire Maclean’s Music , the sire of 2017 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Cloud Computing , 2021 champion male sprinter Jackie’s Warrior , and 30 other black-type winners.
“We’re devastated by this loss,” Brent Fernung said. “He was a beautiful horse, and his first crop of foals are carbon copies of him. Beyond that, Uncle Chuck had a great demeanor and was a pleasure to work around. He will be missed.”
Uncle Chuck sired 75 reported foals in his first Northern Hemisphere crop of 2023. He attracted a book of 68 mares during the 2023 breeding season, which put him among the top five stallions in Florida by number of mares bred. He was shuttled twice to Argentina for the 2022 and 2023 Southern Hemisphere breeding seasons.
Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings bred Uncle Chuck in Kentucky and sold him for $250,000 during the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to Three Amigos—longtime partners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.
Uncle Chuck broke his maiden at 3 at Santa Anita Park with trainer Bob Baffert, running a mile June 12 under jockey Mike Smith and winning gate-to-wire by seven lengths. His performance generated a 96 Equibase Speed Figure.
His next start was in the Los Alamitos Derby (G3) July 4 when he beat stablemate and grade 2 winner Thousand Words by four lengths. After completing a mile in 1:35.80, Uncle Chuck finished the final eighth of a mile in :11.85 for a final time of 1:47.65 and earned another 96 ESF. Uncle Chuck’s performance at Los Alamitos Race Course earned him a shot in the Travers Stakes (G1) to be run 35 days later. He broke from the gate as a 5-2 second choice to eventual winner Tiz The Law and led for the opening six furlongs before fading in the stretch. He did not race again after the Travers and was retired with $150,000 in earnings.
Uncle Chuck was bred out of the multiple grade 1-placed, grade 2 winner Forest Music. Besides Maclean’s Music, the stallion was a half brother to grade 2-placed, grade 3 winner and successful Brazilian sire Kentuckian (Tiznow) and to grade 3 winner Electric Forest (Curlin).
Uncle Chuck was the property of a syndicate.
