Chancer McPatrick proved he was a tough dude with his victory in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) on Labor Day, the final card of the Saratoga meet.
We’ll find out just how tough he is on Saturday in the $500,000 Champagne Stakes (G1) at Belmont at the Big A.
The 2-year-old is a perfect 2-for-2 so far, including that gritty win in the Hopeful. It was a bumpy ride, from start to finish. The colt, a $725,000 purchase at the Ocala Sale in April, hit the side of the gate at the break causing jockey Flavien Prat to lose his irons. As a result, he dropped almost 10 lengths off the pace while swallowing a whole lot of kickback dirt from the horses in front of him.
None of that was an impediment as he came rolling through the lane on a seven-wide sweep to prevail by a half-length over the highly-regarded Ferocious.
“Oh, he learned plenty,” trainer Chad Brown said. “In both of his starts, he’s had to persevere through some trouble, tangled breaks and some dirt in his face. He has run like an older horse. I’m pretty impressed with him.”
The challenges, and the potential rewards, get steeper at each stop.
The Champagne is a mile, a furlong longer than the Hopeful, and Chancer McPatrick (the 6-5 morning-line favorite) drew the outside post, No. 10, against a stronger field of promising juveniles.
There is plenty on the line in this race. It is a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” challenge stakes, giving the winner an expenses-paid trip to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) next month at Del Mar.
As added incentive, the winner also picks up 10 qualifying points toward a starting berth in next year’s Kentucky Derby (G1).
So, is Chancer McPatrick ready to take this step? Brown certainly thinks so.
“He certainly gives us the feeling that he’s going to appreciate some more distance, and his pedigree would suggest it, too. He looks good and his final work was good. He’s been moved down to Belmont,” he said. “He’s ready to run.”
Chancer McPatrick is not the only undefeated colt in the field. Tip Top Thomas (7-2), Lethal Speed (50-1), Mo Plex (12-1, Uncaged (9-2), Vekoma Rides (8-1), Colonel Bob (30-1) and Executive Order (15-1) also spot unblemished records.
Tip Top Thomas is the most intriguing member of that group. This will be his second race following an impressively game maiden win at Saratoga in very fast time.
Tip Top Thomas and Uncaged are the two entrants from trainer Todd Pletcher, who has already logged a record six Champagne wins.
Also on the card is the $400,000 Frizette for 2-year-olds fillies, a WAYI race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
The Futurity is race 8 with a post time of 3:49 p.m. ET.
For those who bet horse racing ...
The picks: 1 Chancer McPatrick 2 Tip Top Thomas 3 Vekoma Rides
1 J J Zo Zo (Jorge Ruiz, Jose Sanchez), 20-1
2 Tip Top Thomas (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Todd Pletcher), 7-2
3 Lethal Speed (Jose Gomez, Shivananda Parbhoo), 50-1
4 Mo Plex (Manny Franco, Jeremiah Englehart), 12-1
5 Uncaged (Joel Rosario, Todd Pletcher), 9-2
6 Vekoma Rides (Kendrick Carmouche, John Kimmel), 8-1
7 Smoken Wicked (Dylan Davis, Dallas Stewart), 12-1
8 Colonel Bob (Mychel Sanchez, Butch Reid), 30-1
9 Executive Order (Jose Lezcano, Phil Serpe), 15-1
10 Chancer McPatrick (Flavien Prat, Chad Brown), 6-5
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
