Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Jon Ebbert (Arcangelo)

Article by Bill Heller

Arcangelo showed Jon Ebbert life can begin just before turning 40 years old. Three days before his 40th birthday, Ebbert was standing in the Belmont Park winner’s circle after Arcangelo, his $35,000 yearling purchase, won the Belmont Stakes by a length and a half, making his trainer, Jena Antonucci, the first woman to win a Triple Crown race.

That wasn’t the only history Arcangelo made. He gave his Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who contributed a brilliant ride, his first victory in the Belmont Stakes after 14 misses. Just five weeks earlier, Castellano ended his zero-for-15 schneid in the Kentucky Derby with Mage. In between, Hall of Famer John Velazquez won his first Preakness Stakes with National Treasure after a dozen Preakness losses.

Dabbling with Hall of Famers and winning the final leg of the Triple Crown? Really?

Ebbert, who works in real estate in Pennsylvania and races as Blue Rose Farm, was introduced to racing at the age of six by his grandmother. He and his family were picking her up to go out for dinner on the first Saturday in May and she told them she couldn’t go until she saw how her horse in the 1988 Kentucky Derby fared. Two years later, Ebbert told his parents he wanted to begin riding lessons, and the rest is history, a very slow-developing history.

Ebbert displayed remarkable patience and persistence as an owner with little success over the past 15 years. The first horse he bought, Daydreamin Boy, cost $3,700 and went zero-for-14 for him.

There were no real highlights. Before Arcangelo made his career debut last December, Ebbert was two-for-37 with earnings of $86,950 racing under his name. Racing under Blue Rose Farm, he’d been zero-for-two with earnings of $1,000.

One horse and one trainer changed all that.

Ebbert met Antonucci by chance the day before the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He told Dave Grening of the Daily Racing Form in his June 9th story that he went to the sale looking to buy a son of Classic Empire who could take him to the 2024 Breeders’ Cup. Ebbert found a son of Classic Empire, Classic Bourbon, and purchased him for $100,000. Through June 2023, Classic Bourbon is zero-for-nine with earnings of $6,170. He is also trained by Antonucci.

Fortunately for Ebbert, another yearling caught his eye, one by Arrogate out of the Tapit mare Modeling. Ebbert bought him for $35,000.

Antonucci started Classic Bourbon twice as a two-year-old on August 27th and September 18th. 

She brought Arcangelo along a bit more slowly at Gulfstream Park. He finished second in his debut December 17th, then fourth on January 14th with Jose Ortiz aboard both times. On March 18th, with Castellano in the saddle for the first time, Arcangelo won by 3 ½ lengths.

Shipped to Belmont Park, Ebbert and Antonucci asked Arcangelo to take a giant step up in the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes, the traditional prep for the Belmont Stakes, May 13th. Arcangelo gamely edged Bishops Bay by a head after a protracted head-to-head stretch battle.

That presented Ebbert with a crucial decision. He had not kept Arcangelo eligible for the Triple Crown, but he could supplement him to the Belmont Stakes for $50,000, $15,000 more than he had paid to buy him.

Ebbert didn’t blink, putting up the $50,000 for a chance to win the final leg of the Triple Crown. “He made the money; we’re going to go for it; we’ve got faith in the horse,” Ebbert told Grening.

The faith was justified. Castellano’s flawless ride gave Ebbert his greatest victory. Arcangelo is now a key contender in the widest-open three-year-old division in many years with races such as the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on the horizon. 

His grandmother would have been very proud. 

Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Kris Chandler (Spirit of Makena)

Article by Bill Heller

Spirit of Makena wins the 2023 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita.

When Kris Chandler’s five-year-old horse Spirit of Makena, owned and bred by her recently-deceased husband Bruce, captured the Grade 3 San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita, March 1st, in his stakes debut, Kris Chandler watched on TV. When trainer George Papaprodromou pointed Spirit of Makena to the Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes at the same track May 27th, Chandler decided to watch the race in person. “It was the first time I went to the track in four years,” Chandler said.

It was worth the wait. Spirit of Makena won the Triple Bend by a length and a quarter under Joe Bravo, making him four-for-five lifetime. “It was emotional on a lot of levels,” Chandler said. “Horse racing was his passion, and he waited a lifetime for this. He had horses for over 40 years and never had a horse like this. So it’s beyond special.”

Patience allowed Spirit of Makena to develop. A variety of issues delayed his career debut until August 5th, 2022, when he won by 2 ¼ lengths as a four-year-old. A head loss finishing second in an allowance race has been his only blemish. Working around quarter cracks, Spirit of Makena won an allowance race before tacking on a pair of graded stakes victories. 

The one with Chandler there was unforgettable. “She was very happy, very emotional,” Papaprodromou said. “She wished Bruce was there with her. I got to meet Bruce. They’re great people and he’s a nice horse. I’m grateful to train a horse like that and I would like to thank the owners for giving me a horse like that. It’s great to train for them. We are looking forward to a nice future with him.”

That future will help Chandler move on with her life after losing Bruce last October 16th, the day before their anniversary, following a four-year battle with cancer. “I met Bruce in Maui in Hawaii 26 years ago,” Chandler said. “Bruce and I did horses together. I’ve always loved horses, since I was a little kid, with my dad.”

Bruce Chandler’s family owned The Los Angeles Times and its parent, the Times Mirror Company, for decades. 

Kris Chandler got more involved with her husband’s horses over the years. “Because I paid attention to the breeding,” she said. “He named me Director of Breeding. That was his title for me. He was breeding to horses in California. I convinced Bruce to breed to Ghostzapper (in Kentucky). I said, 'This is a great sire.’ I convinced him that if you want to get a good horse, you must breed to a good horse.

Spirit of Makena’s dam, Win for M’lou by Gilded Time, was bred by the Chandlers and named for Kris’s mom. “My mom got so excited,” Chandler said. “She was going to be famous.”

Somewhat. Win for M’lou became the Chandler’s first $100,000 winner ($115,230), surpassed only by Mai Tai ($140,405). Spirit of Makena has taken the Chandlers to a new level, having already earned $347,600 in just five starts.

Unfortunately, Spirit of Makena took forever to make it to the races. And Bruce became ill. “He got sick in 2019,” Chandler said. “He wanted to keep going. Our favorite place in the world is Maui, and part of it was because he had to live there the past few years. I’ve been taking care of my husband for the last four years. His mobility got worse and he couldn’t travel. Horse racing was the only thing he could watch. It’s still emotional being without him right now.”

She’s had and still has a ton of support from her Hawaiian community. She lives on Makena Road in Makena. “Everyone in Hawaii is behind the horse,” Chandler said. “The McKenna Golf and Beach Club are like family. The general manager, Zak Fahmie, sent a letter to all the members about this horse, a once-in-a-lifetime horse. He’s kind of like a miracle horse. We didn’t think he was going to get to the racetrack. He was at the farm in California for two years. For him to be a horse like this, it’s a miracle. From being so injured to being such a great horse. It’s a great story. We took our time with him. He’s getting better. He’s just a wonderful horse, very intelligent. You can pet him.”

Spirit of Makena keeps her and her husband connected. Initially, after her husband passed, Chandler thought she was going to get out of racing. Now she has a horse who may take her to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at his home track, Santa Anita. “I’m trying to get out, but this is getting me very excited,” she said. “Having a horse like this, I kind of feel Bruce’s spirit. I think he just knows.”