Chancer McPatrick will stand at Spendthrift after Breeders’ Cup

Chancer McPatrick, the two-time Grade 1-winning juvenile by McKinzie, will stand stud next year at Eric and Tamara Gustavson’s Spendthrift Farm.

An earner of $727,875, Chancer McPatrick will make his final start in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1. A stud fee will be determined after his retirement from racing.

Flashback: Chancer McPatrick wins 2024 Champagne.

“We are excited about Chancer McPatrick. We’ve had good luck with precocious Grade 1 winners from the first crop of emerging sires. Of course, that was the formula with Into Mischief when he came to stud,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said. “It takes a pretty special 2-year-old to win on debut at Saratoga, win a race like the Hopeful (G1) in the second start and win another storied race like the Champagne (G1) in the third start. Chancer McPatrick is also a tremendous physical, and we believe breeders are really going to like what they see on the end of the shank.”

Trained by Chad Brown, Chancer McPatrick is campaigned by Flanagan Racing. The owner bought the colt at last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales April auction for $725,000 after a sharp quarter-mile breeze in 21.0 seconds. Chancer McPatrick went on to break his maiden impressively on debut three months later at Saratoga.

His second start came in the Hopeful, a race he finished at 1:23.44 for seven furlongs to earn his first Grade 1 triumph. A month later Chancer McPatrick again proved best in the Champagne at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet in his third start. He won going away by 2 3/4 lengths to stop the clock at 1:36.51 for one mile, earning a 92 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form.

Chancer McPatrick became just the third horse in 12 years to win both of New York’s biggest Grade 1 races for 2-year-olds. Practical Joke in 2016 and Jackie’s Warrior in 2020 were the others.

This year he captured the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga and most recently was a fast-closing fourth in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) despite a wide trip.

“Chancer McPatrick showed tremendous ability from the first time I worked him as a 2-year-old,” Brown said. “He won both the Hopeful and Champagne, which is extremely difficult to do. The only other horse I was fortunate enough to do that with was Practical Joke, so that’s pretty good company. Chancer McPatrick is a very correct, athletic colt with a lovely temperament. I thought he ran super last time out in the Jerkens. He just needed a little bit further. He’s doing well, and we’re going to train him up to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.”

The most accomplished racehorse by four-time Grade 1 winner McKinzie, Chancer McPatrick is out of Bernardini mare Bernadreamy. Chancer McPatrick’s second dam is Grade 1-winning juvenile Dream Empress.