Uncle Boogie 2nd in Gr. III Bob Hope Stakes

It was easy to tell Uncle Boogie was a colt with class when he broke his maiden by 6 1/4 lengths in his Santa Anita debut on Oct. 12. It was reiterated when the $38,000 OBS June 2-year-old finished a good second at Del Mar on Oct. 31.

Again at Del Mar, the colt bred by Pinky Mendoza became the latest to defy the Equibase charts, coming from ‘out of the clouds’ under Flavien Prat to finish second yesterday in the $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes. At the same time, he also became the second stakes-placed runner for freshman sire Ride On Curlin in the last nine days.

Off last in a field of six in the 7-furlong, Gr. III Hope, Uncle Boogie was about 15 lengths off the pace after a quarter in :22.73, even though Equibase listed it as 8 1/2 lengths. Going to the half, he was so far back he was out of the TV picture, which finally picked him up well into the turn for home. At the top of the stretch, it didn’t appear as if he had any chance to collect a meaningful check, but Prat never gave up, and Uncle Boogie closed a big gap to get second, although winner Red Flag was already gone.

Uncle Boogie earned $20,000, lifting his total for three races to $39,650.