Runhappy From Off the Pace in the Sprint
Updated: October 31, 2015 at 10:17 pm
It might not have happened quite the way they drew it up, but the brilliantly talented Runhappy (Super Saver) asserted his superiority on Saturday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint with 3/4-length victory over gutsy MGISW Private Zone (Macho Uno) in a track record smashing 1:08.52 . ‘TDN Rising Star’ Favorite Tale (Tale of the Cat) rounded out the trifecta. “From the first time I got on this horse, I knew he was special,” said Hall of Fame pilot Edgar Prado, who has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence this year, in part thanks to Runhappy. “He keeps getting better and better. For me, he’s second to [ill-fated GI Kentucky Derby winner] Barbaro. Early in the race when we were further back, we were worried about him [taking] kick back, but he just did fine and we started picking up horses. And, then he really turned it on.”
Saturday, Keeneland
TWINSPIRES BREEDERS’ CUP SPRINT-GI, $1,375,000, KEE, 10-31, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:08.58, ft.
1–RUNHAPPY, 124, c, 3, by Super Saver
1st Dam: Bella Jolie, by Broken Vow
2nd Dam: Jolie Boutique, by Northern Jove
3rd Dam: Mimi La Sardine, by Tank’s Prospect
($200,000 Ylg ’13 KEESEP). O-James McIngvale; B-Wayne, Gray
& Bryan Lyster (KY); T-Maria Borell; J-Edgar S. Prado.
$820,000. Lifetime Record: 7-6-0-0, $1,301,300. *Raced without
Lasix. Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
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2–Private Zone, 126, g, 6, Macho Uno–Auburn Beauty, by
Siphon (Brz). ($15,000 Ylg ’10 KEESEP). O-Good Friends Stable,
LLC; B-Adena Springs (ON); T-Jorge Navarro. $270,000.
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3–Favorite Tale, 126, g, 4, Tale of the Cat–Tricky Elaine, by Grindstone.
“TDN Rising Star” O-PJG Stable; B-Paul Conaway (PA);
T-Guadalupe Preciado. $150,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1, 1 3/4. Odds: 1.60, 3.60, 23.40.
Also Ran: Holy Boss, Salutos Amigos, Wild Dude, Kobe’s Back, Stallwalkin’ Dude, Ivan Fallunovalot, Big Macher, Limousine Liberal, Barbados, Alsvid, Masochistic. Scratched: Gentlemen’s Bet. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Plagued with gate issues, the speedy Runhappy again broke poorly, while Holy Boss (Street Boss) found himself surprisingly on the lead with Private Zone pressing. Runhappy was third and out in the clear after a half in :44.31, but had some work to do as battle-tested Private Zone took over at the head of the lane. Still ridden confidently while receiving a number of right-handers from Prado, Runhappy ran right over the top of Private Zone to lower the six-furlong mark of 1:09 flat set by last year’s BC Sprint winner Work All Week (City Zip) in the 2014 GIII Phoenix S.
Overcoming extreme greenness to take his Turfway Park debut Dec. 28 by 8 1/4 lengths, Runhappy was ninth in his lone route attempt in the GIII LeComte S. at Fair Grounds Jan. 17. At that point, owner James “Mattress Mac” McIngvale transferred Runhappy from sister-in-law and racing manager Laura Wohlers to then unknown horsewoman Maria Borell. The bay reemerged a five-length winner of an Indiana optional claimer July 7, and added another event at Ellis 24 days later in similarly emphatic fashion.
Let go at 11-1 when stepped up for the GI King’s Bishop S. at Saratoga Aug. 29, Runhappy sped away to a jaw-dropping four-length victory from Limousine Liberal (Successful Appeal) and Holy boss to earn a gaudy 113 Beyer Speed Figure. He was last seen rushing up after a tardy start in the slop to take the track-and-trip Phoenix Oct. 2 over Barbados (Speighstown) and the aforementioned and subsequently retired Work All Week.
“I was concerned mostly about getting out of the gate,” revealed the 32-year-old Borell. ” I thought once we were clear, we’d be okay. We kind of thought once he had kick back in his face, he wasn’t going to be a fan of that. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous
around the turn. Once he got going, I knew that we were okay and in the clear.”
Borell, whose seven-horse stable includes four for McIngvale and three she owns herself, said of her stable star, “He’s a really cool horse. He’s got a great personality. He’s very expressive of what he wants. He wants his mints. If you come off without them, he’s very upset. He looks for them. He’s a very affectionate horse. I mean, he has a special relationship with every one of us on the team. He’s just a cool horse. I don’t even think he realizes how talented he is. It’s just him. He’s just great to be around. He’s not really like a colt. He bites a little, but not like most colts I’ve been around. He’s definitely the best horse I’ve ever been around.”
A native of upstate New York, Borrell operates her 120-acre Beacon Hill Farm outside of Lexington.
McIngvale, who operates the Gallery Furniture chain of stores, offered, “It was great. This is like his home track, Keeneland. He loves the track. Maria and Laura, the entire team, Cordell, and Omar, the exercise rider, have all done a great job of getting him ready. Then Edgar rode him like a champ, so here we are. We’re very happy to be here. I’ve been in the horse racing game for 25 years. It’s certainly the biggest win of my career. My children are happy. My wife is at home, but she’s very nervous about the money I spend on horse racing, so she’s happy today.”
For the back story on the winner’s dam, who sells next week at Keeneland November, click here.