Ground Transport meets Get Happy Mister in Arapahoe Classic

Ground Transport, whose three wins this year have come at three different tracks, will take on ultimate horse-for-course Get Happy Mister on Saturday in the $100,000 Arapahoe Park Classic. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up will share a card with the $40,000 Spicy, led by defending champ Angel of the Wind.

Get Happy Mister has won all eight of his starts at Arapahoe since first coming to the track in 2012. Grand Transport, meanwhile, will be making his first start in Colorado. His season has included wins at Fair Grounds, Laurel Park, and Belmont Park. That pair is among 10 horses set to start in the Arapahoe Classic.

Hezamazing, a two-time winner of the race, is again signed on this year, as is Called to Serve, a Grade 3 winner, and Leadem in Ken, who invades for trainer Mike Maker.

Ground Transport is based at Arlington Park and arrived in Colorado on Wednesday, according to his trainer, Michael Stidham. The horse last raced at Prairie Meadows, and was third in the Grade 3 Cornhusker on June 28. Earlier this year, he won stakes at Laurel and Belmont.

“He seems like he’s adapted to any dirt track he’s been on,” said Stidham, who trains Ground Transport, a son of Big Brown, for West Point Thoroughbreds.

Arapahoe Park Classic, race 10

KEY CONTENDERS:

Ground Transport (Last 3 Beyers: 93-83-97)

◗ Ground Transport dueled to the late stages in the Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows, finishing 1 1/4 lengths behind Carve, who also captured the $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Cup at Mountaineer.

“The last race there was speed and class in there and I was very pleased with how well he hung in there,” Stidham said of the up and coming Ground Transport. “He really kept trying right to the wire.”

◗ The Arapahoe surface in particular was one of the reasons to ship for the Classic, said Stidham.

“We think it fits his style as a front-running type of horse,” he said.

Get Happy Mister (Last 3 Beyers: 93-89-96)

◗ Get Happy Mister won a rare two-turn start last out in the Mount Elbert at Arapahoe on July 27. It was his fourth straight win since capturing a May 26 allowance. He has won those races by a combined 16 1/2 lengths.

Butch Gleason trains the horse for Annette Bishop and said the 4-year-old by First Samurai is a horse that’s grown bigger and stronger over the course of the meet at Arapahoe.

Mike Ziegler has the mount from post 2.