Surprise in the Sun: Chateaugay and the 1963 Kentucky Derby

Apr 22, 2023 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

Equidistant between a nuclear confrontation that had been
successfully averted and a national tragedy that would kickstart years of
domestic turbulence, the spring of 1963 was a veritable sweet spot in time.

Befitting that brief window of relative calm, glorious
sunshine and warmth hovered over a then-record crowd at Churchill Downs for a
Kentucky Derby which, on the day at least, appeared a vintage renewal.

(Photo by Churchill Downs / Kentucky Derby)

Although that Derby class ultimately did not include a Hall
of Fame-worthy participant, few Runs for the Roses of that era looked so
tantalizing or were as highly anticipated beforehand.

Wathen Knebelkamp, who guided Churchill Downs through the
1960s as track president, boasted to the Louisville
Courier-Journal, “This Derby is developing so good that it almost
frightens me.”

The numbers, or lack thereof, told the tale. Only nine
horses would face the Derby starter, the second smallest field of the decade.
However, the depth was remarkable.

The cast included two undefeated colts. From California
was the colorfully marked and aptly named Candy Spots, the strong favorite in
the betting. The other was No Robbery, the Eastern establishment’s preference representing
the patrician Greentree Stable.

Rounding out the “big three” was reigning juvenile champion
Never Bend, who had enhanced his record by winning all four of his pre-Derby
starts at three by a combined margin of 28 lengths.

And then there was Chateaugay, the upstart blueblood who
would beat them all. 

(Photo by Churchill Downs / Kentucky Derby)

With Candy Spots, so named due to the unusual white markings
prevalent on his chestnut coat, owner Rex Ellsworth and trainer Mesh Tenney attempted
to take down American racing’s most prestigious prize for a second time. The
“cowboy” duo had claimed the roses in 1955 with Swaps, who in the process
toppled beloved Eastern favorite Nashua.

Indeed, Ellsworth and Swaps would have an outsized influence
on the 1963 Derby. Candy Spots was out of a mare by *Khaled, a high-class
English performer whom Ellsworth had imported to stand in California. *Khaled was
the sire of Swaps, who in turn was represented in the 1963 Derby by No Robbery
and Chateaugay.

Candy Spots won all three starts at two, including the
Arlington-Washington Futurity, then the world’s richest race. He would pick up where
he left off in early 1963 by winning three more races, including the Santa
Anita Derby and the Florida Derby.

The mercurial No Robbery raced for Greentree, which had won
the Derby in 1931 with Twenty Grand and in 1942 with Shut Out. The latter was
trained by John Gaver, who had No Robbery ready to win his first five starts,
including three at Aqueduct in April. One was a 10-length allowance romp in
which No Robbery ran one mile in 1:34, narrowly missing the track record.

A week later, No Robbery was an odds-on favorite for the
Wood Memorial. His winning margin was a decisive 2 1/2 lengths, but would have
been larger if he had not drifted out into the middle of the track through the
stretch.

From the last crop of breed-changing stallion *Nasrullah, Never
Bend was trained by Woody Stephens and owned by Capt. Harray F. Guggenheim’s
Cain Hoy Stable, which had tasted Derby success in 1953 when Dark Star handed
the legendary Native Dancer his only career loss.

Beaten a half-length by Candy Spots in the
Arlington-Washington Futurity, Never Bend’s subsequent victories in the
Futurity, Cowdin, and Champagne Stakes in New York secured championship honors
and then-record earnings for a two-year-old.

Although he won the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah by five
lengths, Never Bend’s Derby preparation occurred primarily in allowances,
including the seven-furlong Stepping Stone at Churchill Downs eight days before
the Derby.

Coming into the Derby very much under the radar was
Chateaugay. A full brother to 1962 champion older mare Primonetta, Chateaugay
was trained by Jimmy Conway for owner John W. Galbreath’s Darby Dan Farm.

A Columbus, Ohio, real estate developer and owner of the
1960 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates, Galbreath had founded the
Kentucky branch of Darby Dan in the late 1940s, when he purchased the core of
Idle Hour Stock Farm from the estate of Col. Edward R. Bradley, who had won the
Kentucky Derby four times in the 1920s and 1930s. 

RELATED: One Hundred Years Ago, Colonel Bradley Goes for the One-Two

(Photo by Churchill Downs / Kentucky Derby)

Chateaugay had not been an easy colt to do a whole lot with.
A wind operation delayed the start of his career to mid-October, though he did
manage to squeeze in five races in the span of 39 days. He won twice, but
finished fourth in the Pimlico Futurity in his only stakes appearance.

A series of ailments, including a virus and skin rash,
limited Chateaugay to one appearance at Hialeah during the winter. Playing
catch-up by the time he shipped back to Kentucky in April, Chateaugay began to
blossom. Although he would win both starts at Keeneland, including the Blue
Grass Stakes nine days before the Derby, neither were authoritative victories.

Under virtually cloudless skies and with temperatures in the
lower 80s, a crowd estimated at 105,000 congregated at Churchill Downs on May
4, 1963. Candy Spots was a strong favorite at 3-2, followed by No Robbery at
5-2. Never Bend was third choice at 3-1, while Chateaugay was only fifth in the
wagering at 9-1.

It's not known whether John Galbreath was a superstitious
man in general, but went along when a supportive member of his household staff
offered him a unique accessory to don while at the races, a part of which he
felt could be of use to Chateaugay out on the track.

“Just as we were leaving our home in Columbus early this
morning, our cook, Clara, hollered for me to come back,” Galbreath explained. “She
gave me this necklace of (chicken) wishbones to wear during the Derby. Before
the race I yanked off one of the bones and put it under Chateaugay’s bridle.”