So Happy finds more to give Glatt poignant Santa Anita Derby victory

After tiring to third on the stretch-out in the San Felipe (G2), So Happy had a distance question to answer in Saturday’s $501,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1). The son of champion sprinter Runhappy answered that question by pulling away in deep stretch, turning the tables on San Felipe winner Potente and putting himself in the Kentucky Derby (G1). 

A better trip helped So Happy, but the Mark Glatt trainee might have received an extra lift, just when he needed it, in his tussle with Potente. Glatt recently lost his wife of 25 years, Dena, and her spiritual presence was very much felt by the colt’s connections. 

“She got that horse there today,” Glatt said.  

So Happy’s regular rider, Hall of Famer Mike Smith, did his part by masterminding the right passage. He reverted to the stalking tactics that had worked in his first two sprint starts, a Del Mar maiden and the San Vicente (G2). In the San Felipe, So Happy found himself uncharacteristically embroiled in the pace, complicating his task in his two-turn debut. The Santa Anita Derby saw him back in his comfort zone.

Conversely, Potente was the one who endured the tougher trip on the front end in their rematch at Santa Anita. Unlike the San Felipe, where he swept from off the pace, the 6-5 favorite ended up on the lead. His Bob Baffert stablemate, Cherokee Nation, was expected to flash speed from his rail post, but that pace forecast was dashed once he broke awkwardly.

As Potente went forward through an opening quarter in :23.03, he was pressed by Robusta, the San Felipe near-misser. Robusta headed him by the half in :46.79, but Potente regained the advantage passing six furlongs in 1:11.11. 

Rounding the far turn, Potente had dueled Robusta into submission, only to be accosted by a fresh challenger. So Happy, who had been well placed in third, loomed up on the outside to collar the favorite.

Potente responded by battling back on the inside, and for a few strides, the outcome hung in the balance. Yet just when the stamina doubt may have resurfaced for So Happy, he struck another gear and drew off.

So Happy crossed the wire 2 3/4 lengths clear, finishing 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.01. The 7.30-1 chance rewarded his loyalists with a $16.60 payout.

Picking up 100 points toward the Kentucky Derby, So Happy now has a total of 115. The bay has bankrolled $480,000 from his 4-3-0-1 line for his owners, Norman Stables and Saints or Sinners.

“He kept on going today,” Smith said. “Today, he really felt fit and ready to race. I can’t say enough of what a great and wonderful man Mark Glatt. His family and the owners are wonderful people.”

 “It’s pretty hard to describe,” Glatt said. “We have had an overwhelming amount of support that’s helped us get through this very tough time. (Dena) got that horse there today. 

“I’m just so thankful to the owners for giving me an opportunity. They are big contributors to my stable. They are not really owners; they have become lifelong friends. I just really appreciate their friendship. Since Dena’s passing, they have called me every night, they have flown out here. They have just been tremendous, along with a lot of other people. But they truly are friends, and I couldn’t ask for it to happen to better people.   

Runner-up Potente earned 50 points, doubling his tally to 100, and Baffert confirmed that the Into Mischief colt was Derby-bound.

“He ran a good race,” Baffert said. “He’s getting fitter and getting more experience. He’ll be going to Kentucky. I'm really happy for Mike Smith and Mark Glatt.”

Jockey Juan Hernandez reported that Potente never quit.

“Today he broke beautifully and was in front. He was getting pressure,” Hernandez noted. “He gave me everything he had and was fighting all the way to the end. Even when the horse came close to me, he was trying to come back and break. He's a great horse, and he ran a good second.”

Another 6 3/4 lengths adrift came the 47-1 Vitruvian Man, who overhauled Intrepido by a half-length for third. Vitruvian Man’s effort was worth 25 points, but he’s not yet a Triple Crown nominee. Intrepido received 15 points in fourth, for a total of 38, and the 65-1 Start the Ride (10 points) nipped Cherokee Nation for fifth. Robusta faded to last. 

So Happy was bred in Kentucky by Leverett S. Miller. Out of the Blame mare So Cunning, he hails from the family of multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Silver Wagon. 

A $12,000 Keeneland November weanling and a $20,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling, So Happy developed into a $150,000 OBS March juvenile. 

While Glatt is a Kentucky Derby neophyte, Smith will be going for his third trophy after wins aboard Giacomo (2005) and Justify (2018).

“The Kentucky Derby is America’s race,” said Smith, who will be riding in his 29th Run for the Roses. “Anyone in the world would want to be in that race.

“There’s more there in the tank for sure. I’m looking forward to going to Kentucky again.”

Santa Anita Oaks (G2)

Earlier, the $201,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G2) had significant Kentucky Oaks (G1) implications, as Meaning established herself as the points leader going to Churchill Downs. 

The 9-10 favorite rolled past fellow Michael McCarthy pupil Brooklyn Blonde to collect 100 Oaks points, topping the leaderboard with a grand total of 126. Meaning’s other points came through her last-out score in the Las Virgenes S. and a fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).

Meaning was also spearheading the Santa Anita Oaks exacta for sire Gun Runner, who had a spectacular day. The Hall of Famer was responsible for Saturday’s other Oaks prep winner, Gazelle (G3) heroine Always a Runner, as well as Blue Grass (G1) romper Further Ado, who boosted his Derby credentials. 

Yet another Gun Runner filly in the Santa Anita Oaks, French Blue, carved out the pace in splits of :22.88 and :46.55. She was the only Baffert runner still in the race after Forced Entry was pulled up early. 

Red Cherry forced the issue until the far turn, when Brooklyn Blonde accosted French Blue at the six-furlong mark in 1:11.15. Brooklyn Blonde put her away quickly and swung for home in front, but Meaning was already on the move.

Although McCarthy’s duo by Gun Runner fought it out in the stretch, Meaning always appeared to have her stablemate’s measure before forging two lengths clear.

Brooklyn Blonde took home 50 Oaks points by finishing 13 3/4 lengths ahead of third-placer Bank Shot (adding 25 points for a total of 56). Next came Red Cherry (15 points), French Blue (10 points for a total of 25), and the tailed-off Hypergamy. Forced Entry was apparently fine afterward, according to Baffert, who surmised (along with jockey Smith) that she “hit herself leaving the gate.”

Campaigned by Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Meaning sports a mark of 4-3-0-0, $307,000. The $440,000 Keeneland September yearling was bred in Kentucky by Stonehaven Steadings.

Meaning is out of the Grade 1-placed Into Mischief mare Figure of Speech, from the further family of Grade 1-winning millionaires Flying Continental and Super Moment.