Fairy Chant (foaled 1937 in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

) was an American Champion

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. Her sire was the 1927

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

winner

Chance Shot Chance Shot (1924–1952) was an American-bred thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred by August Belmont, Jr. at his nursery stud in Lexington, Kentucky, he was sired by the great Fair Play, which made him a half brother to Man o' War, out of the ...

, a son of three-time

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based in N ...

Fair Play Fair play or Fairplay usually refers to sportsmanship. Fair play or Fairplay may also refer to: Media * ''Fair Play'' (1925 film), an American silent film * ''Fair Play'', a 1972 TV movie starring Paul Ford * ''Fair Play'' (2014 film), a Czech ...

. Her dam was Star Fairy, a daughter of The Satrap, the 1926 English Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse who was a son of the great

The Tetrarch The Tetrarch (1911–1935) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated in a racing career of seven starts and was voted the best British-trained two-year-old of the 20th century according to the National Horse ...

Racing career

Fairy Chant was bred by

William du Pont, Jr. William du Pont Jr. (February 11, 1896 – December 31, 1965) was an English-born American businessman and banker, and a prominent figure in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. He developed and designed more than 20 racing venues, including F ...

, and raced under the banner of his Foxcatcher Farm for trainer

Richard E. Handlen Richard E. Handlen (March 25, 1897 - June 2, 1963) was an American Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing horse trainer, trainer whom the March 15, 1937 edition of the Los Angeles Times called "one of the best trainers in America" Rac ...

. She may be best remembered from her win in the $20,000

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a ...

(then called the

Pimlico Oaks {{Short description, Former horse race held at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, US The Pimlico Oaks was a listed Thoroughbred horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Run at the beginning of April at a distance of 1 1/16 miles on ...

) on Friday, May 10, 1940. In that race, she took on a field of nine fillies and beat two stakes winners in True Call and Discerning. She won in a final time of 1:49-4/5 for the mile and a sixteenth over dirt with jockey

Ralph Neves Ralph P. Neves (August 26, 1916 – July 7, 1995) was an American Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Neves won 3,772 races, including 173 stakes, and was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 1960 ...

in the irons. Her performances on the track earned her

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

honors in 1940 and 1941. She finished in the money 62% of the time, earning a win, place or show check in 26 of 42 career races. As a broodmare, she is best known for producing Chevation.

References

Fairy Chant's pedigree and partial racing stats
1937 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 1-c Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Du Pont racehorses Godolphin Arabian sire line {{racehorse-stub