Runhappy

The Runhappy bonus program, which will reward owners of 2-year-olds by Claiborne Farm freshman sire Runhappy (Super Saver) $100,000 for winning an unrestricted maiden race at Saratoga first time out, has been extended to the corresponding races at the Belmont meeting, set to kick off the week of June 1. The bonus will be paid by owner Jim McIngvale, who campaigned Runhappy to victories in the GI King's Bishop S. and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint en route to being named champion sprinter of 2015. "We're really excited about the New...

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company has added a supplemental catalogue to its upcoming Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and the 78 additional horses are now listed on its website, www.obssales.com. Among the 15 siblings to graded stakes winners in the supplemental catalogue are a half-sister by Frosted (hip 1271) to GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner Spun to Run (Hard Spun); a half-brother by Runhappy (hip 1266) to GII Amsterdam S. winner Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) and a half-sister by Outwork (hip 1261) to GIII Honeybee S. winner Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil). The...

Even if most racing is delayed, we're all hoping it will get underway sometime this spring or early summer, if for no other reason than so we can all find out the answer to our annual favorite question. We surveyed some top judges on who their leading first-crop sire is, and to give us some under-the-radar picks as well. NICK HINES Uncle Mo will have a really good look as a "sire of sires" this year with Laoban, Outwork and Nyquist all entering the breeding shed as freshman sires in...

Even if most racing is delayed, we're all hoping it will get underway sometime this spring or early summer, if for no other reason than so we can all find out the answer to our annual favorite question. We surveyed some top judges on who their leading first-crop sire is, and to give us some under-the-radar picks as well. DAVID INGORDO My top two picks are between Nyquist and Runhappy, but I will probably give Nyquist the number one slot. We bought several Nyquists ourselves and I've seen several at...

Even if most racing is delayed, we're all hoping it will get underway sometime this spring or early summer, if for no other reason than so we can all find out the answer to our annual favorite question. We surveyed some top judges on who their leading first-crop sire is, and to give us some under-the-radar picks as well. Since we are a moderate-scale operation, I often feel that there are young sires that I have coveted after but I am unable to attain anything from their first crop. This...

I am going to pick Runhappy as my leading freshman sire. Unfortunately, I do not have any of them in the barn. We seemed to get outrun on all of the one ones that we wanted. I vetted a lot of them at the yearling sales and really liked them physically. He was a very fast horse himself and it looks like he is going to pass that trait on. My under-the-radar stallion would be Not This Time. We had a filly slated for Gulfstream that could be any kind...

All week in this ongoing series, we have been talking to stallion managers and others about the difficulties in filling books for stallions other than first-year and premier stallions. In terms of the difficulties of filling books for third- and fourth-year stallions, I would say that we have been lucky this hasn't really been a problem at Claiborne. However, I have seen it be tricky for some of our less-expensive stallions. The different incentive programs that other farms offer have probably hurt us because breeders can breed elsewhere for deep...

Chris McGrath's Value Sires series in the TDN has frequently touched on the difficulty in selling nominations to stallions in their third-year at stud, as well as to solid, established stallions standing for a moderate fee. We asked stallion managers and nominations teams as well as bloodstock agents what changes could be made, if any, to help the situation. Peter Bradley, Bradley Thoroughbred Brokerage It all comes down to the fact that there is too much supply on the market. We have followed this path over the last 40 years...

Approximately $70,000 was raised by the Jockeys and Jeans Stallion Season Sale for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), double its 2019 revenues, the organization announced Monday. Over 20 stallion seasons were sold, including a season to Claiborne Farm's Runhappy (Super Saver), which topped proceedings at $25,000. The season was donated by the stallion's owner, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale. Other farms and people that contributed to the successful season sale were:  Airdrie Stud, Adena Springs Farm, Anchor and Hope Farm, Brandywine Farm, Calumet Farm, Castleton Lyons, Darby Dan Farm, Double...

Through the first three installments of this series, we've repeatedly complained about ever-more manic investment in unproven stallions and the resulting potential for chronic deterioration in the gene pool. So we won't reprise the theme today, other than to remark that this situation creates a rather more immediate and specific challenge for the next group under review. Because while second- and third-season stallions can still offer breeders the possibility of riding an early vogue, this lot have just been exposed to the judgment of the yearling market--which history reveals to...

The fifth annual Jockeys and Jeans Stallion Season sale has attracted a host of new and popular stallions, led by Eclipse Award-winning Champion Sprinter Runhappy. The season was donated by his famous Houston owner Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale, a major donor to the PDJF. Other popular stallions include Tonalist, Point of Entry, World of Trouble, Mucho Macho Man, Alternation, Army Mule, Oxbow, Upstart, American Freedom, Tapiture, and Adios Charlie and First Dude, the two leading Florida stallions in 2019 by money won. The list of over 50 stallions include those standing...

Officials at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced that the 49th annual Eclipse Award Dinner and the night's highest honor, 2019 Horse of the Year, will be sponsored by Claiborne stallion Runhappy (Super Saver), the 2015 Eclipse Award-winning sprinter. "The Eclipse Awards are the most prestigious awards in North American Thoroughbred racing. I know because we won one for Champion Male Sprinter in 2015," said James McIngvale, who campaigned Runhappy to three Grade I victories, including the Breeders' Cup Sprint. "It was the culmination of an unforgettable year and...