Runhappy links abound on a marquee weekend at Gulfstream

The name of champion sprinter and 2020 freshman sire Runhappy was inescapable last week at Gulfstream Park, as owner Jim McIngvale continued his robust marketing campaign for his stable star. Runhappy, who stands at Claiborne Farm, was the title sponsor of both Thursday night’s Eclipse Awards and Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus World Cup Turf. Appropriately enough, Beyond the Waves, dam of 2019 Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, delivered a Runhappy colt last year as her son was putting together his championship campaign, which included the inaugural Pegasus Turf.

Beyond the Waves delivered a Runhappy colt last April at Stone Farm in Paris, Ky., where she is boarded for owner George Strawbridge Jr. In another twist of fate, Stone Farm is owned by Arthur Hancock III, whose family owns nearby Claiborne, where Runhappy now stands. Strawbridge sold Bricks and Mortar, by Giant’s Causeway, as a yearling to Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. Both Strawbridge and the Klaravich/Lawrence partnership were also honored with Eclipse Awards Thursday night, as outstanding breeder and owner, respectively.

This was the first Eclipse for Strawbridge, who races horses under the name of his Augustin Stable, and has found international success with both flat and steeplechase runners. His leading runners have included Eclipse Award champions Forever Together, Informed Decision, and Waya, and his steeplechase runners are led by Hall of Famer Cafe Prince, a two-time Eclipse winner.

Beyond the Waves, who Strawbridge co-bred with Ward Stiff and campaigned, was a stakes winner in France and was graded/group placed in France and the U.S. The Ocean Crest mare is the dam of seven winners from as many starters, and has also produced Grade 3 winner Emerald Beech, stakes winner Beyond Smart, stakes-winning steeplechaser Beyond Henry, and two stakes-placed horses.