Chop Chop (horse)

Chop Chop (1940-1963) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. He was sired by Flares, a son of U.S. Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox and a full brother to U.S. Triple Crown winner Omaha. Flares raced in England with considerable success for owner William Woodward Sr., counting the Ascot Gold Cup, Champion Stakes and Princess of Wales's Stakes among his wins.

Chop Chop
SireFlares
GrandsireGallant Fox
DamSceptical
DamsireBuchan
SexStallion
Foaled1940
CountryCanada
ColourBay
Owner1) Josephine Douglas
2) E. P. Taylor (1952)
TrainerHarris B. Brown
Record11: 4-4-2
EarningsUS$36,600
Major wins
Endurance Handicap (1942)
Empire City Handicap (1943)
Awards
Leading sire in Canada
(1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963)
Honours
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1977)
Last updated on February 7, 2010

Purchased as a yearling for $4,100 by Josephine Douglas of Oyster Bay, New York, Chop Chop saw his racing career cut short due to an injury. From eleven starts, he won four times and finished out of the money once. His most important wins came in the 1942 Endurance Handicap at Bowie Race Track in Bowie, Maryland and the 1943 Empire City Handicap at New York's Jamaica Race Course, in which he beat Princequillo in track record time.[1][2]

Stud record

Retired to stud duty, Chop Chop was sent to a breeding farm in Kentucky but in 1945 was leased by Gil Darlington, owner of Trafalgar Farm near Oakville, Ontario. Not given much consideration by most in the racing industry, Chop Chop did not attract any top-quality mares for breeding. As a result, his first five years in Canada showed no significant offspring until after he was sold, when Chain Reaction began winning major races in 1953.

Chop Chop's breeding career changed when E. P. Taylor bought him at a dispersal sale and stood him at his National Stud of Canada in Oshawa, Ontario. Chop Chop was mated to Taylor's mare Iribelle, and their daughter Canadiana was foaled in 1950. Canadiana's success in racing resulted in Chop Chop being bred to the best of the Taylor mares and as a consequence, he was the leading sire in Canada from 1959 through 1963.

Among his progeny, Chop Chop was the sire of four Queen's Plate winners and two Hall of Fame inductees:

Through his daughter Ciboulette, Chop Chop was the damsire of Eclipse and Sovereign Award winner and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Fanfreluche. Chop Chop's bloodline endures in the 2015 U.S. Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah, who is a seventh-generation descendant.

For his contribution to Canadian racing, in 1977 Chop Chop was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.[3]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Chop Chop
Sire
Flares
Gallant Fox Sir Gallahad Teddy
Plucky Liege
Marguerite Celt
Fairy Ray
Flambino Wrack Robert Le Diable
Samphire
Flambette Durbar
La Flambee
Dam
Sceptical
Buchan Sunstar Sundridge
Doris
Hamoaze Torpoint
Maid Of The Mist
Clodagh Tredennis Kendal
St. Marguerite
Clare Desmond
Sheila

References

  1. "Chop Chop Takes Endurance Handicap". The New York Times. 1942-11-27. p. Section Sports, page 32. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  2. "Chop Chop Captures Empire City Handicap". Evening Independent, page 11. 1943-07-05. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  3. "Chop Chop". Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. 1977-12-04. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
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