As the annual FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series gets under way at Gulfstream Park Saturday with the running of the $100,000 Dr. Fager and $100,000 Desert Vixen, last year's hero, Chance It, will continue making progress along the comeback trail in Ocala, FL.
Shooting Star Thoroughbreds LLC's stable star, who was victorious in two of the three legs of the 2019 Florida Sire Stakes, was sent to the sidelines with a foot injury sustained during the running of the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) March 7.
“He's doing really well. He's gotten bigger and stronger. He's happy. He came out of the Tampa Bay Derby with a foot injury, and it takes a while to grow a foot,” said Mary Lightner, syndicate manager of Shooting Star Thoroughbreds LLC. “We just started putting him under tack two weeks ago.”
Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Chance It, who won his 2020 debut in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream to take a step onto the Derby Trail, is being patiently handled on the comeback trail from an injury that resulted in the first off-the-board finish of his career.
“At the training center, it's up and down hill, so he's getting a lot from walking up and back from the track. Probably, in a week and a half, he'll start jogging,” Lightner said. “We're going real slow with him. We hope to get him back running in the fall.
Chance It bounced back from a second-place finish in his career debut last June to turn in a brilliant 9 ¼-length maiden-breaking triumph at Gulfstream. The overachieving son of Currency Swap came right back to capture the $100,000 Dr. Fager before finishing second in the $200,000 Affirmed and winning the $400,000 In Reality by 7 ¼ lengths to close out a highly productive 2-year-old campaign.
“It was an unbelievable year – hard to duplicate, that's for sure. I think he became the workingman's horse and had a huge following because of his pedigree that no one thinks about. I think they kind of saw him as overcoming a lot to win those kind of races and be that kind of horse,” Lightner said. “Everybody got behind him. We had a great time.”
Coming off a three-month layoff, Chance It made a sweeping move to the lead in the mile Mucho Macho Man only to be headed by multiple-stakes winner As Seen On Tv in mid-stretch. Chance It found a late reserve of energy to fight back and win by a head.
“He really laid his body down to win that race. I can't take anything away from As Seen On TV. They both ran a great race,” Lightner said. “You thought he was beat and he came back. He has a huge heart. It makes you so proud of him.”
Lightner is looking forward to a long future for Chance It.
“There are a lot of races for him. Nobody thinks of him as a stallion and as long as he stays healthy and we try to do the right thing by him, he can run until he's 5 or 6 years old. That's why we're taking things slow with him and that everything's right before we send him back,” she said. “Saffie is looking forward to getting him back, but he's on the same page. He doesn't want to rush anything.”
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