Champagne fair odds: Plenty of speed for Chancer McPatrick

Being the fastest horse in a race is never a guarantee for victory, and this especially can be the case for deep closers who find themselves at the mercy of pace.

That is not a concern for Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes winner Chancer McPatrick in the Champagne Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Aqueduct where the undefeated McKinzie colt figures to be a big favorite against nine others in the one-turn mile.

Chancer McPatrick already proved he can overcome trouble when circling the field to catch favored Ferocious in the Hopeful after hitting the gate and losing an iron early in the seven-furlong race. Ferocious figures to be a big favorite in the Breeders' Futurity a couple hours later Saturday at Keeneland.

Back to my first sentence, Chancer McPatrick is definitely the fastest of this group, standing tallest on both Brisnet and Ragozin ratings, earning a coveted triple-digit late pace rating on Brisnet in the Hopeful victory.

So who else is there? Tip Top Thomas is the most interesting of the forward horses. His debut was a six-furlong blitz with a strong close. His uncoupled stablemate Uncaged also won on debut, but Irad Ortiz Jr. is riding Tip Top Thomas. Still, that Uncaged was able to lay off a brisk pace on debut is a positive for this group.