Oaklawn: Get Happy Mister carries speed in Northern Spur

The connections of Get Happy Mister picked a good time to try their horse at two turns for the first time. Breaking on top in the $100,000 Northern Spur Stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Oaklawn Park, Get Happy Mister took an early lead and never let it go, winning by 2 1/4 lengths over favored Looking Cool, with Red Wings another 2 1/4 lengths back in third.

Get Happy Mister paid $16.20 to win, but that number could easily have been higher. A Colorado-bred by First Samurai owned by Tangarae Farms, Get Happy Mister had made his first start for trainer Kelly Von Hemel and first outside of Colorado in the March 2 Gazebo at Oaklawn, dueling on the early pace and fading in the stretch to finish last of seven. That was Get Happy Mister’s first defeat after four blowout wins at Arapaho Park last year for trainer Kenneth Gleason, but Get Happy Mister, making his first start beyond a sprint trip, quickly got back on track Saturday.

With Glen Corbett in the irons, he set moderate fractions of 23.78 seconds, 47.41, and 1:12.34 on the way to a final clocking of 1:38.37 for a one-mile race ending at the sixteenth pole. Looking Cool tried to make a race of it at the top of the short stretch but never threatened the winner while clearly second best.