Uncle Mo and Twirling Candy sit atop first NTRA Polls

By: SPORTS NETWORK

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Champion colt Uncle Mo and four-year-old colt Twirling Candy sit in first-place in the initial NTRA Polls of 2011.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile champ Uncle Mo was the overwhelming choice with 19 first-place votes and 207 points in the three-year-old poll. There will be weekly voting for three-year-olds through the running of the Belmont Stakes.

Owned by Mike Repole, Uncle Mo is slated to make his first start of 2011 in the Timely Writer Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, March 12. As a two- year-old he was perfect in three starts and collected $1,296,000.

Fountain of Youth Stakes winner Soldat is second with 177 points, including the three remaining top votes. The colt is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin and will probably start next in Gulfstream's Florida Derby on April 3.

Holy Bull Stakes champ Dialed In is third with 159 points. Owned by Robert LaPenta, Dialed In is also set to start in the Timely Writer Stakes.

Rounding out the top 10 in the three-year-old poll are Mucho Macho Man (120), Brethren (103), To Honor and Serve (69), Gourmet Dinner (46), Flashpoint (44), Jaycito (43) and The Factor (39).

Leading the national rankings is Twirling Candy, winner of the recent Strub Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Trained by John Sadler, Twirling Candy received seven first-place votes and 181 points. A winner of six of seven career races, the colt will start in Saturday's $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap.

Also getting seven top votes is Donn Handicap winner Giant Oak. The five-year- old garnered 164 points for second-place.

Uncle Mo is third in the poll with three first-place votes and 83 points.

Gaining two top votes is multiple Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti. Trained by Christophe Clement, the six-year-old got 76 points, good for fourth-place, despite not having raced this year. He is scheduled to start in the $10 million Dubai World Cup on Saturday, March 26.

Completing the top 10 are 2010 Breeders' Cup Sprint champ Big Drama (72), Soldat (64), Tackleberry (63), Always A Princess (54), Switch (46) and Goldikova.

Goldikova, the three-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Mile, received three first-place votes and 42 points.

The National Poll concludes on Monday, November 7 following the Breeders' Cup World Championships.