Runhappy
2nd-Keeneland, $84,357, Msw, 4-25, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f (off turf), :52.62, sy, 5 lengths. STORM CLOUD RISING (f, 2, Runhappy--Demigoddess {SP, $150,840}, by First Dude), already experienced over a muddy track when third in her debut over course and distance Apr. 11, was meant for the turf here but took plenty of money as the race got rained off onto the main track. Down to 3-1 from her 20-1 morning line as a result, the outside draw flashed early speed and was intent on the lead, dueling early with first-time...
Two horses have been supplemented to Keeneland's April Select Horses of Racing Age Sale, set to begin Apr. 25, namely stakes winner Incanto (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and the maiden-placed Happyhappyboy (Runhappy), the auction house announced Friday afternoon. The former is trained by Jose D'Angelo and has two victories to his credit in 2025, including the Texas Glitter Stakes at Gulfstream Park Mar. 22, before he shipped out to Santa Anita for a try in the Listed John Shear Stakes. Finishing fifth there, the gelding will be selling remotely from Santa...
9th-Oaklawn, $131,000, Alw (NW1$6MX)/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 4-11, 4yo/up, 6f, 1:09.27, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. SKELLY (g, 6, Practical Joke--Adande, by Bwana Charlie) ran a hole in the wind--much to the delight of the local crowd--en route to a supremely confident seasonal bow here against outclassed optional claiming rivals. Leaving the blocks like a rocket and immediately establishing control, Skelly rolled through splits of :21.96 and a half in :44.75 as he built up a sizeable margin entering the homestretch. In a position where the rest would need to produce a...
Claiborne Farm has announced the advertised fees for its 2025 stallion roster, led once again by the venerable War Front. War Front, a son of the mighty Danzig, will stand for an advertised fee of $75,000. He is North America's leading sire by lifetime percentage of stakes winners and graded stakes winners. This year, he added to his impressive list of top runners with GI E. P. Taylor Stakes winner Full Count Felicia, and Grade III winners Fort Washington, First World War, and Goliad, winner of the $2,000,000 Mint Millions...
Maria Borell, known for training Eclipse Champion Sprinter Runhappy (Super Saver) in the lead up to his win the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, has been issued a trainer's license in the state of California. The Daily Racing Form first reported the news Friday. In 2016, Borell and her father, Charles, were charged in Kentucky with 43 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. The charges against her were dropped last year and the DRF noted that Borell plans to train for several clients in California. According to CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten, Borell...
You know, it's almost like they're family. Okay, maybe that's not terribly helpful. As we've learned from others kindly sharing their experiences for this series, the only right way is the one that works for you. That's always a pretty good starting point, anyway, with horses. And given this additional variable, where the directors stage board meetings around a kitchen table, then different families must find their own ways to meet the challenges of succession. Some hire consultants; some transition with parallel businesses; some, no doubt, never get past the...
Last year's champion 3-year-old colt Arcangelo (Arrogate) captured the GIII Peter Pan S. before adding top-level victories in the GI Belmont S. and the GI Travers S. A scratched-down field of six is expected to line up for Saturday's renewal of the Peter Pan at Aqueduct, which serves as the local prep for the final leg of the Triple Crown, which will be held at Saratoga and run at 1 1/4 miles June 8. 'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic (Liam's Map), a fantastic winner of the one-turn mile GIII Gotham S....
Keeneland will host its April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale following Friday's 10-race card on closing day of the Spring Meet. The fledgling auction will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. Keeneland's final race will go off at approximately 5:09 p.m. ET. A total of 134 horses--and still growing--have been catalogued to the one-day sale. "It's an exciting sale," Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said earlier this week. "It's kind of a celebration of the end of our race meet and it also kicks off Derby week. This...
The Lothenbach dispersal of Horses of Racing Age on Fasig-Tipton Digital, run Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, closed with 66 horses selling for $4,840,000 with MSP Minnesota Ready (More Than Ready) leading all lots at a final price of $380,000, changing hands to Richard Colton Jr.. The first in the digital ring, Minnesota Ready was most recently seen Jan. 20 in the Duncan F. Kenner S. at the Fair Grounds, where he again ran third in a blanket finish with SW Sosua Summer (Summer Front) and MSW & MGSP Just...
War Front (Danzig) will again lead the way at Claiborne Farm among their nine-stallion roster for 2024, with a fee of $100,000, the same price for which he stood in 2023. In 2023, War Front's yearlings sold for up to $800,000, and he is among the top 10 North American-based sires this season by percentage of black-type winners from starters (6.9%), black-type performers from starters (11.8%) and total graded stakes winners (six). War Front's GI Preakness S.-winning son War of Will will stand for $25,000. His first yearlings sold at...
Fasig-Tipton has catalogued six initial supplemental entries to its 2023 The November Sale, the auction company announced on Monday. The late entries, catalogued as hips 247-252, include G3 Pocohontas S. winner Fun and Fiesty (Midshipman); the unraced Al Ula Princess (Tapwrit), a half-sister to Grade I winner Princess Noor in foal to Epicenter; Susie's Baby (Giant's Causeway), a half-sister to Group 1 winner and standout sire Caravaggio; 2016 GI Frizette S. winner Nickname (Scat Daddy) in foal to Uncle Mo; recent Iowa Sorority S. winner Won Happy Mama (Runhappy) offered...
1st-BAQ, $90k, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 12:35p.m. ET Whisper Hill Farm has been enjoying a fruitful year on the track and in the sales ring, and SPEED RUNNER (Gun Runner) looks to add his tally to the operation's banner year. A half-brother to the brilliant GISW Brilliant Speed (Dynaformer); SW & GSP Souper Speedy (Indian Charlie); and SP Bank (Bernardini), the Pletcher-trained chestnut comes into the race with a bullet move Sept. 27 over Belmont's training track--a five furlong work in a co-fastest minute flat. His dam Speed Succeeds is a...