Runhappy

8th-Oaklawn, $106,000, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($50,000), 3-16, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:48.95, sy, 1 1/4 lengths. SMILE HAPPY (c, 4, Runhappy--Pleasant Smile, by Pleasant Tap) was a force on last year's GI Kentucky Derby trail as a 'TDN Rising Star', winning the GII Kentucky Jockey Cup S. in just his second start before checking in second twice--to Eclipse champion Epicenter (Not This Time) in the GII Risen Star S. and Zandon (Upstart) in Keeneland's GI Blue Grass S. Last seen beating more than half the field home in eighth under the...

8th-OP, $106K, OC 50k/N2X, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 5:22 p.m. The Ken McPeek-trained duo of 'TDN Rising Star' SMILE HAPPY (Runhappy) and CREATIVE MINISTER (Creative Cause) kick off their 4-year-old seasons at Oaklawn Park Thursday. Smile Happy, winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at two and runner-up as the favorite in last year's GI Toyota Blue Grass S., makes his first start since finishing eighth in the GI Kentucky Derby. The 2-1 morning-line favorite gets first-time Lasix while facing seven rivals here. Creative Minister, a respectable third in last...

6th-Keeneland, $99,588, Msw, 10-27, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:05.38, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. RARIFY (f, 2, Justify--Bella Jolie, by Broken Vow) opened her account with a pair of seconds at Saratoga earlier this summer, trying both 6 and 6 1/2 furlongs. The half-sister to Runhappy (Super Saver), Ch. Sprinter, MGISW, $1,496,250, Thursday's 2-5 chalk, raced with blinkers for the first time over her shortest distance yet and settled into a stalking position early while racing in the three path into the far turn. Fanned out wider still, Rarify loomed outside...

FanDuel Racing will showcase the breeding and sales sectors of the horse racing industry with a special broadcast of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The all-day coverage of Book One--presented by Runhappy---will air Monday, Sept. 12 and Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET each day. As the sale continues, there will be daily sales reports on FanDuel Racing. The coverage begins with a special "Rising Stock" feature that is scheduled to air Saturday, Sept. 10 at 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. PT. It will feature expert insights...

6th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 3:55 p.m. ET RARIFY (Justify), a half-sister to champion sprinter Runhappy (Super Saver), looks to go one better at second asking here. The $750,000 KEESEP graduate set the pace and reported home second-best as the even-money favorite on debut for Wesley Ward at Saratoga July 24. Godolphin homebred Spelterini (Bernardini) also completed the exacta on debut at the Spa July 14 (Second Chances series), rallying smartly to finish a length ahead of next-out blowout winner Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke). The field also includes...

Runhappy will once again be the title sponsor of Ellis Park's upcoming meet, which runs from July 8 through Aug. 28. The Runhappy Meet at Ellis Park will be highlighted by an Aug. 14 card of five stakes races: the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby; $100,000 Runhappy Audubon Oaks; $125,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Juvenile; $125,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Debutante; and the $125,000 Groupie Doll S. "Runhappy won at Ellis Park during the summer of his Eclipse championship season, so we're happy and excited to support the upcoming race meet again,...

Wayne Lyster always knew it to be miracle enough, for a farm this size, simply to get both into the starting gate. The Derby-Oaks double hadn't been accomplished since the heyday of Calumet, 70 years previously, and at Ashview, they foal out no more than a couple of dozen mares every spring. As such, Lyster can justly take pride in the fact that both Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and Nest (Curlin) finished their races so well, for fifth and second, respectively, that they are now converging instead on the GI...

George Sharp, who made high-price horses of racing age purchases last year, will be in action as a seller at Wednesday's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale of Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training where he will offer two juveniles. The pair is part of a group of 12 yearlings he purchased at last year's Keeneland September sale. "I took a shot last year that, if I bought enough yearlings, maybe I could sell a few of them to pay for the rest," Sharp explained. While he is reoffering horses he bought just last fall,...

The progressive Rotknee (Runhappy) took his current winning streak to three, running out an easy winner of Sunday's Damon Runyon S. at the Big A. Drawn widest in a field of five, the homebred showed the best early speed and angled over to the fence in the opening furlong, forcing odds-on Best Idea (Honor Code) to be checked for half a stride. Going strongly on the engine beneath Manny Franco, Rotknee turned them in a couple of lengths to the good and kept on gamely to become the seventh stakes...

Lucky Seven Stable's Smile Happy (Runhappy) is among possible candidates for Gulfstream's GI Curlin Florida Derby Apr. 2, according to trainer Ken McPeek. Lucky Seven Stable also owns McPeek-trained Rattle N Roll (Connect), who is scheduled to make his 2022 debut in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 5 at Gulfstream. Smile Happy had been expected to make his second start of the year in either the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 9 or the GII Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Mar. 26. "You may...

The chart of the GII Risen Star S. run Saturday at the Fair Grounds will show you that the race was won by Epicenter (Not This Time) and that runner-up Smile Happy (Runhappy) was never a serious threat to win. It's just that there is a lot more to this story. Expectations were high for Smile Happy coming into the Risen Star. He was 2-for-2 last year and his win in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. came at the expense of Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) and White Abarrio (Race...

Only a 2 1/4-length defeat to eventual Grade II stakes-placed runner Nakatomi (Firing Line) against the boys on Keeneland debut Apr. 14 stands between Happy Soul and a perfect record. She has since been dominant against her peers, with a near 12-length victory May 13 at Belmont Park and a carbon-copy masterclass June 3 in the venue's Astoria S. as the 1-9 chalk. Making her 3-year-old bow here, the even-money favorite broke in line with the field and was asked to track the front-runner from third on the rail. Shoulder...