CONFORMATION

“She has nice front legs, is very well balanced and not over big like a lot of the Fort Woods,” said Barry Irwin. “I don’t particularly see her as being a prospect at 2, although she was foaled early and does have some speed elements in her family.”

PEDIGREE

Click here for pedigree of Hip 139 - Chanchilly

SIRE - Fort Wood

Fort Wood was a lightly-raced colt in France who won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris.

He is impeccably bred, being by Sadler’s Wells, the most successful stallion in European and British history. He is out of the stakes winner and phenomenal producer Fall Aspen, who is the dam of Timber Country, the Champion Colt of his generation at 2 in the U. S., where he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, then later placed in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Fort Wood has been one of the top couple of stallion standing in South Africa.

He is best known as the sire of Horse Chestnut, regarded as the greatest “modern day” racehorse in South African history.

His four South African Derby winners include Horse Chestnut, who was a stakes winner on dirt at Gulfstream Park in a lone stateside appearance before taking up residency at Claiborne Farm, and Dynasty, a Horse of the Year and one of the best recent runners in South Africa, where he is now at stud.

FAMILY

The cross of Fort Wood with mares by Northern Guest and Harry Hotspur has already yielded a pair of stakes winners in the second dam.

Syon, a stake winner of the Grade 2 Drill Hall Stakes over a mile, is by Fort Wood out of the second dam of Chanchilly. This sprinter/miler was Graded stakes placed on several occasions, mostly in sprints.

Hundred Acre Wood is a colt by Fort Wood out of a full sister to the dam of Chanchilly. He won the Grade 2 Premier’s Trophy going a middle distance.

BROODMARE SIRE - Northern Guest

Northern Guest was an unraced full brother to El Gran Senor, a once-beaten Irish Derby winner who won 7 of 8 races, being beaten only when second in the English Derby.

By epochal sire Northern Dancer out of the famed Buckpasser producer Sex Appeal, Northern Guest stood his career in South Africa.

Three times the chestnut led the sire list in South Africa.

Six times he has been the leading broodmare sire.

Mick Goss, who stood him at Summerhill Farm, said that he did best with mares with some substance, a quality Fort Wood has in abundance.

NOTES

Chanchilly's dam has so far had 3 other Fort Wood offspring to reach the race course and all have won.

TRAINER

Michael Roberts will train Chanchilly.

One of the all-time great jockeys in the history of South America, he led the list 11 times. He won half a dozen South African Derbys.

Roberts was the leading rider in England in 1992 and the following year he was the retained rider for Sheik Mohammed.

Among the best horses ridden by Roberts were the phenomenal South African racehorses Bold Tropic (Champion Colt at 2 and 3, South African Derby and multiple Graded stakes winner in California, later a sire) and Wolf Power (Horse of the Year, Champion 2-year-old in South Africa and a stallion in Kentucky), as well as English Horse of the year Mtoto.

Upon his retirement, Roberts realized a life-long dream of becoming a trainer. But, in typical fashion, he spend almost two years building his own private training center outside of Durban.

Starting with a small string and gradually building up a good base with the support of connections he met while riding in Britain, Roberts has shown a talent for sending out winners.

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