Chantilly will bypass the 2025 Pepsi North America Cup

The verdict is in for undefeated pacing filly Chantilly (Big Jim).

After months of deliberation, owner George Millar of Millar Farms has decided that his 2024 Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year sophomore pacer will enter the 2025 Fan Hanover Stakes to race against females.

She was the first harness racing filly made eligible to race against male rivals in the 2025 Pepsi North America Cup and ranked highly in all the polls heading into June.

The entry box closes for the 2025 Pepsi North America Cup eliminations and the 2025 Fan Hanover eliminations on Tuesday, June 3 at 10:30 a.m.

In a conversation on Monday morning, Millar told Trot Insider that while he’s confident his stable star would be ultra-competitive in the 2025 Pepsi North America Cup while racing against the boys, a number of factors went into his decision to opt for the fillies and the Fan Hanover — while also noting that race will not be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination.

“With this group, we haven’t seen the best horses up here yet,” said Millar, confirming a number of conversations regarding this topic with both trainer Nick Gallucci and regular driver James MacDonald. “I’ve got a feeling [the Pepsi North America Cup final] could go in 1:47 and change, and I’m not saying she couldn’t go with them, but I just don’t think I really think I want to push her that hard.

“I’ve been in the horse business long enough; if you push them right to their maximum limit, sometimes they race great and they don’t really come back,” continued Millar. “It’s a long season. I just wish this race was just coming, you know, maybe a couple of weeks from now so she had a couple more starts under her belt…because that first start really didn’t tell me anything and the second start made me wonder.”

A daughter of Big Jim – Shiraz Seelster, Chantilly has won all 11 of her on-track appearances, banking $897,796 while sporting a lifetime mark of 1:49.4, taken in her most recent start.

“I hope I don’t disappoint too many people,” added Millar, cognisant of the chatter he and his confidence created. “It has been exciting. The mare is just a special mare, and I think she really deserves it…It just seems I wouldn’t make that wise of a decision.”

From Standardbred Canada