Saratoga: Chancer McPatrick outfinishes Ferocious in Hopeful

Flanagan Racing’s late-running debut-winner Chancer McPatrick closed impressively once again to win the Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga on Monday. The seven-furlong sprint for juveniles was the closing-day feature. 

In victory, four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown earned a sixth Grade 1 victory at the meet. He also won the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial with Domestic Product, the Personal Ensign with Raging Sea, the Fourstardave with Carl Spackler, the Test with Ways and Means and the Diana with Whitebeam.

Brown, who led all trainers with 45 wins at the meet, captured five races in total on Monday's 12-race card, a feat he also completed at Saratoga on Aug. 25, 2021. His other wins came with Marvelous Madison in race 2, Prerequisite in 5, Dea Matrona in 9 and Child of the Moon in 11. 

“It means the world. They (the team) work so hard, and my clients and the horses we have to work with. It’s just a magical meet. It’s a meet for the ages, and I don’t know how myself or anyone else could replicate this. It seems impossible,” Brown said. “My team showed off their talents to be able to train any kind of horse, different ages, surfaces, distances.”

Back aboard Chancer McPatrick after a victorious debut on July 27 at Saratoga, jockey Flavien Prat extended his newly established meet records with a 14th graded-stakes score and 18th overall stakes win. 

The McKinzie bay broke inward from post 8 of nine. He quickly dropped back when Prat lost an iron from hitting the gate and then bumping with Mentee to his inside. Prat recovered swiftly and was content to sit well off of the pacesetting Smoken Wicked, who was tracked by Mentee through an opening quarter-mile in 22.76 seconds over the fast main track. 

“I hit the gate, lost my stirrups. It was pretty bad. The first jump he went right into the starting gate. From there, I regrouped,” said Prat. “The way he broke, I lost so much ground, I was basically trying to give him a good race and see if he would make a run.” 

The favored Ferocious settled into a stalking third position as the nine-horse field traveled down the backside with Chancer McPatrick towards the back of the pack in eighth, only in front of distantly-trailing first-time starter Mr. Mendelslew. 

Around the turn through half-mile in 45.70 seconds, Smoken Wicked continued to duel with Mentee, a full-brother to Travers (G1) winner Fierceness. The 3-5 favorite Ferocious kept close tabs under Irad Ortiz Jr. just ahead of Innovator, Tough Catch, and the Brown-trained Incentive Pay. 

Coming to the top of the lane, Prat picked it up aboard Chancer McPatrick and angled him to the four-path for a run at Smoken Wicked, who at this stage repelled Mentee, but there were far more challengers to come. 

Smoken Wicked held a half-length advantage at the stretch call as Chancer McPatrick got rolling down the center of the course outside of a driving Ferocious with Incentive Pay also kicking along the rail. After three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.61, it was down to this four, and Chancer McPatrick had momentum to the outside of Ferocious. 

Chancer McPatrick showed a devastating turn-of-foot to turn back the bid of Ferocious and win by a half-length with a final time of 1:23.44, with 1 3/4 lengths back to Incentive Pay in third. It was one more length to Smoken Wicked in fourth, with Innovator, Mentee, Studlydoright, Tough Catch, and Mr. Mendelslew completing the order of finish. 

Prat, who won the first Grade 1 of the meet aboard the Brown-trained Whitebeam and now the last, said it was a fitting end to his record-setting meet. 

“When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” said Prat. “The break was pretty bad and I never thought from there I could regroup. He did it and he showed that he’s very talented.”

Sean Flanagan of Flanagan Racing, who noted he has been visiting Saratoga since his childhood as early as 1971, said Chancer McPatrick’s rally had him in disbelief. 

“He needs even longer than this. To go from last to winning the Hopeful … ," mused Flanagan. "As far as ownership and breeding them, I’m still very much a novice. We wanted to stick to horses that might be Classic, two-turn type horses. I think that Chancer McPatrick is definitely a two-turn horse."

Brown said a stretch-out could come for both of his runners in the 1 1/16-mile, $600,000 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) on Oct. 5 at Keeneland or the one-mile, $500,000 Champagne (G1) on the same day at Belmont at the Big A. Both races are automatic qualifiers for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November at Del Mar. 

“The Champagne and Breeders’ Futurity are the two races that were really on my radar if they had run well, so I’ll talk to both owners and see how they come out and what track I think fits who,” said Brown. 

Gustavo Delgado, Jr., son and assistant to trainer Gustavo Delgado, said Ferocious lost his front left shoe during the race and still galloped out strongly. 

“On the gallop out you could tell the horse is there, the finesse is there, it’s just experience," said Delgado, Jr. “He seemed to be a little bit distracted. When the winner passed him by, he got engaged in the race. On the gallop out, he passed the winner again. They are learning what to do and he will get better with races.” 

Ortiz Jr., aboard the $1.3 million OBS March 2-year-olds in training sale purchase Ferocious for the first time after an injury sidelined Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, said his horse stalled a touch before fighting back. 

“He don’t really give it to me (kicking in) until that horse get close to me. When that horse get outside of me, he turned his engine on,” said Ortiz, Jr. “He was fighting back and he ran a really good race. I have a good trip. I got run down by that one, but he was fighting back so I’m happy with him.” 

Bred in Kentucky by Rigney Racing, Chancer McPatrick is out of the winning Bernardini mare Bernadreamy. His second dam is Grade 1 winner Dream Empress. In victory, Chancer McPatrick became sire McKinzie’s first stakes winner. 

Chancer McPatrick banked $165,000 while improving his record to 2: 2-0-0 and returning $10.80 for a $2 win bet. He brought $725,000 at the OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds in training after initially being purchased for $260,000 in the 2023 Fasig-Tipton July select yearling sale.