Colour Me Happy finally gets back on turf Monday
ARCADIA, Calif. – Colour Me Happy won a maiden race on turf in Newmarket, England, last October, then was purchased by Kosta and Pete Hronis and sent to trainer John Sadler at Santa Anita. When Colour Me Happy makes his U.S. debut in an optional claimer at a mile in Monday’s third race, it will be his first appearance on a turf course since arriving in this country.
This year, Santa Anita has not conducted turf workouts to preserve the course. Turf workouts were customarily held once or twice a week for stakes or allowance horses. Without a turf workout for Colour Me Happy, Sadler said he is unsure how the Poet’s Voice colt will handle Santa Anita’s turf course.
“You don’t see their best on the dirt,” Sadler said. “I’ll feel good when I get him on the turf. He’s settled in very well. He’s trained steadily.”
Colour Me Happy was second in his first three starts before winning a maiden race at seven furlongs on Oct. 21. The turf course used at Newmarket in October has an uphill finish, which should make a one-mile race well within Colour Me Happy’s range.
The optional claimer has seven entrants, including the French import Moonlight Drive as well as It’s the Ice, who was second in his U.S. debut on Jan. 24.
Moonlight Drive, now trained by Bob Baffert, won a maiden race by nine lengths at Mont-de-Marsan last September and later finished second and third in minor stakes at Nantes and Toulouse.
It’s the Ice, trained by Phil D’Amato, was beaten 6 1/4 lengths by Imperious One in an optional claimer at a mile. It’s the Ice was a maiden-race winner in England last September.
Moonlight Drive and Rare Candy are the only runners in the field with stakes experience. Rare Candy has run in four stakes, including fourth-place finishes in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf last September and the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes on turf at Del Mar in November. More recently, Rare Candy was seventh in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on dirt at Santa Anita on Jan. 9.
Lopez ‘beat up’ after spill
Apprentice jockey David Lopez was off his mounts Saturday after being involved in a spill Friday.
Lopez, third in the jockey standings behind Rafael Bejarano and Santiago Gonzalez through Friday, was hospitalized briefly Friday night and underwent precautionary X-rays on a knee, according to his agent, J.R. Pegram.
“The X-rays were negative,” Pegram said. “He’ll be off [Saturday], and he’ll be day-to-day. It was nothing serious, but he was beat up.”
The incident occurred when Death Valley Girl broke down severely on the turn of a $30,000 claiming race for maidens in Friday’s eighth race. Lopez, riding 3-2 favorite Icona, was unable to avoid the fallen horse and was unseated.
Kieren Fallon, who rode Death Valley Girl, was not injured.
Death Valley Girl was euthanized. Icona ran at the back of the field after unseating Lopez.
◗ Following Monday’s card, the next live racing program at Santa Anita will be on Friday. Next weekend’s racing is highlighted by Saturday’s $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile. Keri Belle, the winner of the Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes at a mile on turf, is expected to be part of a large field.
Next Sunday’s program is led by the $75,000 Baffle Stakes for 3-year-olds at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course.