Happy My Way targets Saratoga's Alfred Vanderbilt

Happy My Way, the dominant winner of the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Handicap on Preakness Day, most likely will make his next start in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga on Aug. 2, trainer Joe Orseno said Friday.

Orseno said he wanted to run in the Smile Sprint in south Florida, but it is uncertain whether that race will be run as a result of a pending dates agreement between Gulfstream Park and Calder. The Smile Sprint typically had been part of the Summit of Speed card at Calder but could be moved to Gulfstream and run for a significantly lower purse.

Happy My Way won 3 of 4 starts at Gulfstream Park last winter before his dominant victory at Pimlico. Following the Maryland Sprint Handicap, Orseno said he wanted to target the Breeders’ Cup Sprint this fall at Santa Anita. He said he wants to have two starts for Happy My Way before the Breeders’ Cup.

Orseno said he had considered running in Friday’s True North at Belmont, but when he saw the speed figures that Happy My Way ran, he feared the horse would bounce.

Orseno said Happy My Way was expected to have a workout this weekend at Monmouth Park.

“The girl that gallops him, Stacy Prior, said she can’t hold him on the ground, so we have to breeze him this weekend,” Orseno said.