Chance Play was the last champion sired by the great sire Fair Play and the last champion bred by August Belmont II before his death in 1924. As his second dam was a daughter of Rock Sand, he was a product of the same Fair Play/Rock Sand nick that had produced the immortal Man o' War, champion Mad Hatter and many other good horses. Like Mad Hatter, Chance Play had the speed to win the 6-furlong Toboggan Handicap over good sprinters and the stamina to win the 2-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, and he accomplished the double in the same season. (His win by disqualification in the Jockey Club Gold Cup should not be discounted, as he was slammed into the fence in the final yards by first-place finisher Brown Bud; Brown Bud was also in receipt of 11 pounds.) Chance Play overcame indifferent opportunities during the first several years of his stud career to become a two-time American champion sire, although his overall stud record was rather uneven.
Race record
39 starts, 16 wins, 12 seconds, 2 thirds, US$137,946
1925:
1926:
1927:
1928:
Honors
Assessments
Ranked seventh among American juvenile males of 1925 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American 3-year-old males of 1926 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked third among American older males of 1928 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A light chestnut horse, Chance Play was a typical, rangy, big-boned Fair Play type in appearance with a good shoulder and hip and short cannons. Nonetheless, according to Abram S. Hewitt (Sire Lines), Chance Play was somewhat delicate and could not handle hard races close together.
As a stallion
Chance Play led the American general sire list in 1935 and 1944. He was also sixth in 1945 and ninth in 1939. His only appearance among the top 10 American broodmare sires was in 1953, when he was ninth. Jockey Club records credit him with 221 winners (70.4%) and 23 stakes winners (7.3%) from 314 named foals.
Notable progeny
Now What (USA), Pot o' Luck (USA), Psychic Bid (USA), Some Chance (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Chance Play was bred by August Belmont II at Nursery Stud. He was owned by Log Cabin Stud (W. Averill Harriman and George Walker), which purchased Chance Shot privately from Belmont's estate in January 1925.in the fall of 1926, Harriman bought out Walker's share of the colt and afterward raced Chance Play in the colors of his Arden Farms Stable. Chance Play was trained by Louis Feustel until July of his 3-year-old season, when he transferred to the barn G. Hamilton Keene. Keene died in January 1927, and Chance Play was trained by John I. Smith at 4 and by George Odom at 5. Chance Play did not receive the best of opportunities during the early part of his stud career, when he stood at Aknusti Stud near Delhi, New York, but later moved to Calumet Farm after being purchased by Calumet owner Warren Wright at a price variously reported as US$65,000 or US$70,000. Chance Play was pensioned after suffering a heart attack in 1947 and died in 1950.
Pedigree notes
Chance Play is inbred 5x5 to two-time English champion sire King Tom. He is a full brother to 1927 Belmont Stakes winner Chance Shot and to the good handicapper Pari-Mutuel. His dam Quelle Chance never raced, but her sire Ethelbert (by Eothen) was considered the best American 3-year-old male of 1899 and her dam, Qu'elle est Belle II, won the 1912 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) and produced American stakes winner Rurik (by Stefan the Great). Qu'elle est Belle II was conceived in the United States from the mating of Rock Sand and the English-bred Queen's Bower (by St. Florian) and was sent to France in utero.
Books and media
Chance Play is profiled in Chapter 48 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released by Eclipse Press in 2006).
Race record
39 starts, 16 wins, 12 seconds, 2 thirds, US$137,946
1925:
- Won Youthful Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Jamaica)
- 2nd Futurity Stakes (USA, about 7FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Junior Champion Stakes (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Hopeful Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Saratoga)
1926:
- Won Potomac Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Havre de Grace)
- 2nd Dwyer Stakes (USA, 12FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd President's Plate (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Maryland Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
1927:
- Won Toboggan Handicap (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
- Won Lincoln Handicap (USA, 10FD, Lincoln Fields)
- Won Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Saratoga)
- Won Saratoga Cup (USA, 14FD, Saratoga)
- Won Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Belmont; by disqualification of Brown Bud)
- Won Havre de Grace Cup Handicap (USA, 9FD, Havre de Grace)
- 2nd Gadsden D. Bryan Memorial Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Bowie)
- 2nd Queens County Handicap (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Brooklyn Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
1928:
- Won Aqueduct Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Continental Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Jamaica)
- 2nd Bayview Handicap (USA)
- 2nd Thanksgiving Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Bowie)
Honors
- American Horse of the Year (1927)
- American champion older male (1927)
Assessments
Ranked seventh among American juvenile males of 1925 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American 3-year-old males of 1926 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked third among American older males of 1928 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A light chestnut horse, Chance Play was a typical, rangy, big-boned Fair Play type in appearance with a good shoulder and hip and short cannons. Nonetheless, according to Abram S. Hewitt (Sire Lines), Chance Play was somewhat delicate and could not handle hard races close together.
As a stallion
Chance Play led the American general sire list in 1935 and 1944. He was also sixth in 1945 and ninth in 1939. His only appearance among the top 10 American broodmare sires was in 1953, when he was ninth. Jockey Club records credit him with 221 winners (70.4%) and 23 stakes winners (7.3%) from 314 named foals.
Notable progeny
Now What (USA), Pot o' Luck (USA), Psychic Bid (USA), Some Chance (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Chance Play was bred by August Belmont II at Nursery Stud. He was owned by Log Cabin Stud (W. Averill Harriman and George Walker), which purchased Chance Shot privately from Belmont's estate in January 1925.in the fall of 1926, Harriman bought out Walker's share of the colt and afterward raced Chance Play in the colors of his Arden Farms Stable. Chance Play was trained by Louis Feustel until July of his 3-year-old season, when he transferred to the barn G. Hamilton Keene. Keene died in January 1927, and Chance Play was trained by John I. Smith at 4 and by George Odom at 5. Chance Play did not receive the best of opportunities during the early part of his stud career, when he stood at Aknusti Stud near Delhi, New York, but later moved to Calumet Farm after being purchased by Calumet owner Warren Wright at a price variously reported as US$65,000 or US$70,000. Chance Play was pensioned after suffering a heart attack in 1947 and died in 1950.
Pedigree notes
Chance Play is inbred 5x5 to two-time English champion sire King Tom. He is a full brother to 1927 Belmont Stakes winner Chance Shot and to the good handicapper Pari-Mutuel. His dam Quelle Chance never raced, but her sire Ethelbert (by Eothen) was considered the best American 3-year-old male of 1899 and her dam, Qu'elle est Belle II, won the 1912 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) and produced American stakes winner Rurik (by Stefan the Great). Qu'elle est Belle II was conceived in the United States from the mating of Rock Sand and the English-bred Queen's Bower (by St. Florian) and was sent to France in utero.
Books and media
Chance Play is profiled in Chapter 48 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released by Eclipse Press in 2006).