by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — At seven he’s not exactly an elder statesman, but his connections admit The Chancellor has always been into himself and the only thing that really piques his interest is his favorite treat.

“He’s very stuck in his own ways,” said Julie Miller, the gelding’s conditioner and co-owner. “If you want his attention you need to bring a jelly doughnut to the barn and he’s yours all morning.”

The son of Yankee Glide and the Super Bowl mare Prime Mistress, who is also owned by Peter and Ebby Gerry’s Arden Homestead Stable, was sold at the 2007 Lexington Selected Sale as a yearling for $32,000.

The Chancellor, the fourth place finisher in the 2009 Hambletonian, has trotted 97 miles with a record of 18-20-12, amassed a bankroll of $691,366 and established his lifetime mark of 1:53 at age 4. He is a half-brother to Prime Interest (Self Possessed, 1:55.1h, $628,760) and Beer Summit (Cantab Hall, 3,1:52.2s, $414,489) and has even competed in an under saddle race last year in Lexington.

This year The Chancellor has won four times in 12 trips behind the gate and added $29,600 to his banrkoll.

Julie Miller has trained and co-owned The Chancellor throughout his career.

“I don’t know what to say about him,” Miller said. “He was and still is a good looking horse and when we came to New Jersey we were looking for a New Jersey-bred trotter. The Gerrys had bred him and wanted to buy back in on him and that’s how we started our relationship with them, who are salt of the earth people. He’s racked up over $600,000 for us and has been a grinder as well as really good for us.”

He now competes in non-winners and conditioned races, but The Chancellor did enable the Millers to contest some big time races, such as the aforementioned Hambletonian and the Colonial, earlier in his career. The gelding also captured the $85,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final as a 2-year-old.

“What an opportunity he has given me to be in those situations like the Hambletonian and then finishing second in the Colonial to Explosive Matter,” Miller said. “When you are there with a horse that you own it’s really just exciting and in all his races he’s always right there.”

Although he’s not really interested in anything that doesn’t directly pertain to him, The Chancellor is a pretty relaxed individual and very good to himself.

“He’s an easy keeper,” Miller said. “He’s the first horse my daughter ever jogged by herself because he’s very mild-mannered and easy going.”

There are occasions, however, when Miller does get a bit confounded with his behavior.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Andy Miller drove The Chancellor to a fourth place finish in the 2009 Hambletonian.

“He knows how to put it together, so when he jumps it off or does something silly he aggravates me,” she said. “Because it’s like ‘come on now, you know what you are doing.’”

At this point in his career, The Chancellor is still going strong, but when it’s his time to stop performing in the pari-mutuel ranks there are already plans for his next endeavor.

“Helene (Gregory) rode him under saddle and he kind of got left at the gate,” Miller said. “Then she had to snatch him up on the backside, but she said he was pretty good, but he will have a long career no matter what as Peter can’t wait to put him in the Billings.

“He ended up being great for our program and he’s good to us so we are good to him. He seems to have lingered on, like why are you still here? He’s the stay-at-home son and has just seemed to stick around.”