Runhappy: Optimism and Challenges Abound
Runhappy is not like other horses, and spending time in the morning with Team Runhappy is unlike any other workout I’ve ever been around. This morning’s six-furlong breeze from the gate at Churchill Downs was an event. The whole team, minus the ever working patriarch, Jim ‘Mattress Mack' McIngvale, was on hand. The mood to see their big horse run was happy. Hats were being handed out, donuts were available, and the Runhappy trailer dominated their little corner of the Churchill Downs backstretch.
From the way they train their champion, to the high tech equipment being used to fulfill his athletic promise, this team has one goal -- to see Runhappy be all that he can become. So far, so good for trainer, Laura Wohlers, husband-wife team of Phillip Brown, and Laura McIngvale Brown, the equine sports science guru, Bill Pressey, groom, Cordell Anderson, and several other team members. They are a friendly team, very open to telling it like it is, and supremely confident in their star.
No drugs. Train horses the way an Olympic champion would train, and then let them be horses. Their methods are scoffed at by many in the industry, but success could change that. Count me in as a believer of their technique. Already a champion, the best may very well be yet to come for Runhappy.
As far as this morning’s work, his penultimate before his return to the races, it was an impressive sight to see the four-year-old colt effortlessly moving down the backstretch. Edgar Prado, aboard for the work this morning, told me that the gate placement was farther from the track (rail) than Runhappy is used to, and it did slow him down just a bit. After that, he got rolling, as always.
Following the slow start, Runhappy picked it up to complete the three-quarters in 1:14.40, with a strong gallop out to a mile in 1:40.60. Prado also explained to me that the son of Super Saver is far more relaxed early than when he first worked the horse last year. The Kentucky Derby winning jockey believes this is the key for Runhappy stretching out to distances unheard of for a Sprint Champion.
Obviously, you can never look too far ahead, and with any racehorse, it is prudent to take one step at a time, but the races being bandied about by the team speak volumes about their level of confidence in the 2015 Champion Sprinter. McIngvale not only wants to bring Runhappy to all the big stages, but he wants as many fans to see him as possible. Here are the races mentioned to me as likely goals, if all goes well:
October 1 – Ack Ack Handicap (One-Mile Churchill Downs) – This will be his first race back to the races after just over nine months away since his easy win in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes late last year.
November 4 – Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (One-Mile Santa Anita) - The biggest goal of 2016, and his first major test around two-turns.
November 25/26 – Clark Handicap (1 1/8 miles Churchill Downs) or the Cigar Mile (One-Mile Aqueduct) – If he comes back sharp from the Breeders’ Cup, these are races they are interested in to close the year.
January 2017 – Pegasus World Cup (1 1/8 Miles Gulfstream Park) - $12 million dollars, and they are all in.
March 2017 – Dubai World Cup (1 1/4 Miles Meydan) – If he is a horse that can handle classic distances, this would be huge.
November 2017 – Breeders’ Cup Classic (1 1/4 Miles Del Mar) – It is a long way off, but no horse has ever won three different Breeders’ Cup races.
It’s an ambitious schedule. In fact, for a sprint champion, it’s unheard of unless your name is Dr. Fager. Is Runhappy the type of horse to revolutionize the game? He just may be. As I was leaving the barn area this morning, a couple of tour groups ascended on the team and their champion. I was reminded once again that Runhappy is not like other horses.