Happy My Way tries to turn back clock in Maryland Sprint

BALTIMORE – When last they assembled more than 100,000 folks at Pimlico, a very fast gelding named Happy My Way was showing off. That was on Preakness Day 2014, when he turned the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Handicap into a rout.

“It was so much fun we would like to do it all over again,” said Joe Orseno, who trains Happy My Way for Sagamore Farm and Mel Paikoff.

One year later, Happy My Way has not been back to the winner’s circle after facing rugged company in five subsequent starts, but he looks to be in a good spot as the defending champion in the $150,000 Maryland Sprint. Regular rider Joe Bravo will be back aboard Happy My Way when breaking from post 4 in a field of eight older horses going six furlongs.

“We’ve raced him sparingly,” said Orseno. “When we got to Florida this winter, he ran okay, and I would agree his form did tail off a little bit. But he really has come around in the last few weeks. They say timing is everything, and he has prepped as well for this upcoming race as he has for anything in a long time. We’re really excited about running him back there at Pimlico.”

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Coup de Grace figures as the main threat to Happy My Way when breaking from post 2 for the Kentucky Oaks-winning team of jockey Kerwin Clark and trainer Larry Jones.

The Maryland Sprint, first run in 1987, is carded as the fifth race, with post time set for 12:39 p.m. Eastern. Its 1999 running was perhaps the most memorable, as an inebriated fan ran out onto the track at the eighth pole and disrupted the field as Yes It’s True proceeded to victory.

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Maryland Sprint, race 5

KEY CONTENDERS

Happy My Way (Last 3 Beyers: 93-92-96)

◗ Florida-bred 5-year-old ran off a remarkable string of five straight triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures from late 2013 through a runner-up finish behind Palace in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt last August at Saratoga.

“I’ve worked backward from this race ever since we won it last year,” Orseno said jokingly in trying to explain how Happy My Way has gone winless in the interim.

Coup de Grace (Last 3 Beyers: 87-79-92)

◗ Tapit colt became quite the rage by winning three of his first four and five of his first seven before being defeated in back-to-back Grade 1s to conclude his 3-year-old season.

◗ His seasonal debut March 20 at Fair Grounds resulted in a disappointing third-place finish, but he figures to benefit substantially from the needed effort.

Picko’s Pride (Last 3 Beyers: 92-92-91)

◗ This 7-year-old outran his odds for Mac Robertson when third at 37-1 in the Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park and figures in the exotics here with something similar.

Sandbar (Last 3 Beyers: 89-89-56)

◗ Erstwhile claimer with some decent running lines ships in from Kentucky for trainer Joe Sharp, the husband of former Maryland-based riding queen Rosie Napravnik, who is expecting the couple’s first child next month.