Chatfield Road took the field gate-to-wire in the $125,000 Illinois Futurity Saturday at Hawthorne to register the first stakes victory in the young career of the 2-year-old Bellamy Road juvenile (VIDEO).
A top 20 third-crop sire, Bellamy Road’s progeny have earned in excess of $2.6 million this year, highlighted by All Squared Away, winner of Keeneland’s Grade 3 Coolmore Lexington S.
Squeezed between horses a bit at the start, Chatfield Road nevertheless fought his way to the front to secure a good spot in the two path going into the first turn of the 1 1/16-mile contest. Down the backstretch, Ultimo Tango made a run at the leader from the inside, but Chatfield Road shook him off going into the final turn. Soon after, Lasell made his move from the outside, but Seth Martinez shook up the eventual winner to spurt clear in the upper stretch. Lasell made a last-gasp run in deep stretch, but Chatfield Road would not be denied, winning by a head.
Bred in Illinois by his owner John Carver, Chatfield Road broke his maiden by an eye-opening 14 lengths in his six furlong debut on Nov. 15. The $71,775 Futurity payday upped his earnings to $80,475. Chatfield Road’s dam Ms. Chatfield, a stakes winner in her own right, has produced 10 foals, every one of them winners, with eight of the group multiple winners.
