RACING CAREER

Sold for just $10,000 as a weanling Pennsylvania-bred, Chase the Chaos started with lower expectations at Canterbury Park as a two-year-old this past August. Facing lesser horses led him to be post time favorite in his debut, but a poor break left too much ground to make up despite a nice recovery into second over a sloppy dirt track. Fortunately, his second start saw a slightly better break and a switch to the turf, allowing the again odds-on favorite to pass the front-runners in the stretch despite slower early fractions. 

Trainer Ed Moger Jr. decided a step up into stakes company at Golden Gate was next in line, now switching Chase the Chaos to the all weather track from turf. A pair of stakes efforts in the Golden Nugget and Gold Rush both ended similarly late in his two-year-old season, with a couple of mid-pack closing charges to hit the board in each. He still hadn’t been stretched out past eight furlongs, and was reaching for more distance in every start that saw him finishing well in the late stages.

Chase the Chaos

Astern (AUS) – Live the Moment, by Uncle Mo 

Career Record: 8-3-2-1

Trainer: Ed Moger Jr.

Owner: Adam Ference and Bill Dory

Breeder: Mr. and Mrs. Dale N. Krapf

Career Earnings: $123,950

A drop back down to allowance company at Golden Gate to close out his two-year-old season led to his most dominant effort to date, a 7 ½-length romp going a mile as the even-money favorite. 

Chase the Chaos had separated from this class, beginning to mature just in time for the El Camino Real Derby in February. The nine-furlong distance seemed to be right up his alley with the strong finishes he had at two, and even after dropping ten lengths behind the leader after three quarters of a mile, Chase the Chaos was able to take over after a three-wide move in the stretch. 

This victory qualified him for the Preakness, but he still took aim at the Derby trail after picking up ten points for the El Camino win. Unfortunately, the trip to Santa Anita for the Grade II San Felipe proved to be a bit too much for Chase the Chaos, who was off at 32-1 and never factored into the final result. A seventh-place finish was enough for Moger to give up on the Derby hopes, and a rare off effort in his return to Golden Gate in late April has left this colt with some improving to do before his Preakness attempt.

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LAST RACE TRIP NOTES

8th, California Derby – Hopped at the break, then moved towards the inside and entered the first turn a joint second-to-last while two wide. Remained towards the inside and inside rivals while moving up on the backstretch. When winner Prince Abu Dhabi, last early, moved ahead of this one while three wide in upper backstretch, Chase the Chaos went with him, the two racing in tandem with the winner a head in front entering the turn. They remained in tandem throughout the far turn run while behind horses. Nearing the lane, Chase the Chaos had room at the rail and moved into it but could not find a seam to stretch his legs. When the winner found a seam and burst away between the sixteenth- and eighth-poles, Chase the Chaos was not asked for more.

BLOODLINES

Primarily an Australian-based sire, Astern has had success in the breeding shed for some international horses, including Golden Mile who has won three graded races in Australia and earned over one million US dollars in his still-active racing career. Astern retired from racing in 2017, so most of his offspring are just now starting to catch on, already with multiple stakes winners in North America. 

A bit more recognizable to American audiences is Chase the Chaos’s broodmare sire in Uncle Mo, one of America’s leading sires who also has ninety-four winners as the damsire in his breeding career. Chase the Chaos is the first foal out of Live the Moment, who won once in her career.

The more under-the-radar breeding outside of Uncle Mo may explain the lower price tag for Chase the Chaos, but Astern could be one that gains popularity in North America if his most recent crop begins to catch on in the coming years.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“We ended up just talking to a lot of consignors. I had narrowed the field down to about 50 horses that I figured would fit in our price range and what I liked about the breeding and stuff,” said owner Bill Dory. “That’s kind of how we ended up with him. I really like the Medaglia d’Oro (grandsire) and the Uncle Mo (dam sire) portion of it.” 

“To be given the opportunity to ride a horse in the biggest race in Maryland on my home track: look, it’s a seven-horse field, and anything can happen in horse racing,” said Sheldon Russell, who will ride Chase the Chaos. “If anything, I’m honored that they gave me the opportunity to ride him. Hopefully I can work out a good deal.”

For $10,000, Dory and Ference got the most bang for their buck by studying the breeding of Chase the Chaos, and now have a Preakness contender that even they didn’t expect.