Runhappy sets stakes record in King's Bishop

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When Runhappy won the Grade 1, $500,000 King's Bishop by four lengths at Saratoga on Saturday, it wasn't only his first stakes win, it was the first stakes score and the fourth career victory for his trainer, Maria Borell, who has a five-horse stable at the Thoroughbred Training Center outside of Lexington, Ky.

Borell, 32, is from Syracuse, N.Y. She first became involved in racing by working as an exercise rider for Barclay Tagg at Saratoga Race Course. She has been training on her own since 2013. She is now 4 for 26.

Runhappy is now 4 for 5 in his career. He won his debut at Turfway Park in December, then finished ninth in the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds in January. He came out of that race with a stress fracture and was transferred to Borell when he returned to training.

Prior to the King's Bishop, he won a first-level optional claimer at Indiana Grand in his return and then another optional claimer at Ellis Park at the end of July.

On Saturday, he outsprinted 10 rivals for the early lead in the King's Bishop and never looked back, winning by four lengths. His final time of 1:20.54 was a stakes record for the King's Bishop and missed the seven-furlong track record set by Darby Creek Road in 1978 by 0.14 seconds.

Runhappy paid $24.60 as the seventh choice in the race. Limousine Liberal, a 15-1 shot based with trainer Ben Colebrook at Keeneland, completed an all-Kentucky exacta worth $358.

Holy Boss, the 5-2 favorite who came into the race with four straight wins, finished third, two lengths behind Limousine Liberal. Watershed was fourth. The top three finishers were one-two-three around the track.

Mr. Z finished seventh at 9-1; Competitive Edge, 9-2, had a rough trip and finished eighth.

Edgar Prado rode Runhappy.

"He is very fast and was just doing everything so easily," Prado said. "When he started pricking his ears and looking for competition, I felt good."

Runhappy is owned by James McIngvale, better known as Mattress Mac, the owner of Gallery Furniture, which used to sponsor the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park. Laura Wohlers, who works at Gallery Furniture in Houston, is McIngvale's racing manager. She trained Runhappy for his first two starts and then hired Borell to train him.

"We were looking for someone that had the same philosophy we do – no Lasix, no drugs," Wohlers said. "We gave Maria a chance."

Wohlers said Runhappy will be pointed for the Grade 3, $250,000 Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland on Oct 2. He would then be considered for the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Sprint on Oct. 31.