ARCADIA, Calif. – This has already been a record-breaking spring for Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith in the buildup to the Triple Crown. Smith is bound for the Kentucky Derby on May 2 with So Happy, winner of Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The victory made Smith, 59, the oldest rider to win the track’s marquee race for 3-year-olds. Bill Shoemaker was 55 when he won his eighth Santa Anita Derby on Temperate Sil in 1987. “I’ll take it,” Smith said of his latest milestone. Smith may achieve another age-related record if So Happy wins the Kentucky Derby. Shoemaker was 54 when he rode Ferdinand to a popular win in the 1986 Kentucky Derby. For months, Smith has spoken glowingly about So Happy, who is trained by Mark Glatt for Robbie Norman’s Norman Stables and Hans and Ana Maron’s Saints or Sinners stable. Smith rode So Happy to a win at 38-1 in a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs on Nov. 22 at Del Mar in the colt’s debut. So Happy followed with a two-length win in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs on Jan. 10 at Santa Anita. So Happy, by the sprint champion Runhappy, was beaten for the first time when third by 2 1/4 lengths in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 7 at Santa Anita. The loss led to questions surrounding the colt’s ability in longer races. The debate ended, at least temporarily, after his 2 3/4-length win in the $501,000 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles. “He showed he belongs and gets the distance,” Smith said. “He’s not without a chance” in the Kentucky Derby. So Happy was Smith’s third Grade 1 win in the last year. He won the Del Mar Debutante last September on Bottle of Rouge and the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita later that month on Nevada Beach. On a day-to-day basis, Smith does not have as many mounts as he did earlier in his career. He insists he is comfortable seeking rides in high-quality races. “I’m over the moon and elated to get an opportunity like this,” he said. Smith won the Santa Anita Derby for the fifth time on So Happy, his first win in the race since Taiba in 2022. In addition to the five wins, Smith rode Justify to a first-place finish in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby. Justify, who swept the Triple Crown with Smith aboard, was later disqualified from the Santa Anita Derby win for a medication violation. So Happy will be Smith’s first mount in the Kentucky Derby since Taiba finished 12th. Smith has won the Kentucky Derby twice, including with Giacomo in 2005. Glatt, 53, won his first Santa Anita Derby on Saturday. So Happy will be his first starter in the Kentucky Derby. “It’s a huge accomplishment,” Glatt reflected Sunday. “It’s nice to pull it off, especially races like that. We hadn’t won it before.” Smith had So Happy in third on the backstretch, tracking Potente and Robusta. Smith moved So Happy closer to the front on the turn and took the lead with more than a furlong remaining. Glatt said he was “pretty confident” while watching the race develop on the turn. So Happy “looked sharp at the quarter pole,” Glatt said. “I figured if he could get to that point and engage like he did, he would have a shot. He made the most of it.” The win triggered strong emotions in the winner’s circle. Glatt’s wife of 25 years, Dena, died earlier this year of cardiac arrest. “What it means for Mark is pretty special,” Smith said. Glatt gathered with the Marons and friends and family for a Saturday evening barbecue at his home. The Michigan-Arizona college basketball game was on, but it was not much of a contest with Michigan winning easily. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The afternoon’s horse race was a much better sporting event. So Happy finished well clear of runner-up Potente, the only other runner from the Santa Anita Derby with sufficient qualifying points to secure a berth in the Kentucky Derby. Potente, trained by Bob Baffert, was the 6-5 favorite in the Santa Anita Derby and led in early stretch. Baffert said Sunday that Potente emerged from the race in good order. The Baffert-trained Cherokee Nation was sixth as the 3-1 second choice, breaking slowly and never reaching contention. Vitruvian Man, a 47-1 outsider, closed from sixth of seven to finish third. Vitruvian Man had a better result than stablemate Robusta, who was second by a head to Potente in the San Felipe. Robusta faded to finish last in the Santa Anita Derby. Doug O’Neill, who trains Robusta and Vitruvian Man, did not state any race goals on Sunday. Robusta and Vitruvian Man have 25 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, ranking in a tie for 33rd on the list of candidates. The Kentucky Derby will be limited to 20 starters. “Both came out if in good shape,” O’Neill said. “I don’t think they’ll get in” the Kentucky Derby. “There will be plenty of opportunities. There are so many summertime derbies.” Intrepido, who finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby, will be given a rest, trainer Jeff Mullins said. Start the Ride, who was fifth, will be pointed to stakes for California-breds, according to trainer Dan Blacker. One option is the $125,000 Snow Chief Stakes for statebred 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf May 25. By then, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes will have been run. There’s a chance So Happy will be known for more than a win in the Santa Anita Derby. “It’s great for Mark and his crew,” Smith said. “It’s fun to be a part of it.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.