By Tim Wilkin
SARATIOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–Give an assist to trainer John Kimmel for fellow conditioner Chad Brown's latest 2-year-old win at Saratoga Race Course.
Come again?
Well, after the seventh race at the Spa was complete Saturday afternoon and Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie) was getting his picture taken, it was rival trainers Kimmel and Brown who were huddled together. They shared some laughs and a handshake.
While Brown got Chancer McPatrick ready for his debut, a 6 1/2-furlong $100,000 maiden special weight, it was Kimmel who got the horse to Brown's barn.
Chancer McPatrick is owned by Sean Flanagan's Flanagan Racing. It was Kimmel who bought the horse–along with Nick Sallusto–at the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training. The price tag was $725,000 for the freshman stallion. Besides training, Kimmel is a bloodstock advisor.
“I feel lucky that John found this horse and sent him to us,” Brown said as he walked through the clubhouse after the race.
Sean Flanagan, who is from Boston, was not at the Spa to see his rookie run. Wherever he was, suffice it to say, it must have felt like St. Patrick's Day
“I've been buying horses for Mr. Flanagan and Flanagan Racing,” Kimmel said, “We thought [Chancer McPatrick] had a fabulous breeze and he passed all our examinations and the other stuff you go through. Really, really nice horse.”
Since coming to the Brown barn, Chancer McPatrick has had nine workouts, all at Saratoga. He tuned up for his career debut with a four-furlong breeze in 47.89 seconds (3/138) on July 21.
Chancer McPatrick was the 2-1 favorite in the field of 10, which also included Invictus (Into Mischief), a $1.2 million purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale. He finished seventh.
It was not a great start for Chancer McPatrick and jockey Flavien Prat, who had plenty to do after some early trouble.
“Flavien said he lost his action on the backside when coming out of the chute area,” Brown said. “He was going to be about mid-pack and horse slipped and lost his action. He was way back further than he wanted to be.”
As he watched Chancer McPatrick fall 10 lengths behind at the half, Brown was resigned to the fact that perhaps it wasn't his day. But, when Prat got Chancer McPatrick into the clear, he took off and gobbled up all the ground in the stretch. He passed the pacesetter T Kraft (Connect) and won by a length.
Chancer McPatrick was timed in 1:17.99.
“[Prat] said once he got his feet up underneath him and took him out of the kickback, he made a move you don't see very often in young horses,” Kimmel said.
“Once he got into gear, and from what I have seen from in the morning, I knew he had a serious turn of foot,” Brown said. “We like this horse a lot.”
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