Runhappy works swift five furlongs in final prep for Ack Ack

Marcus O'Donnell was shaking out his legs a little after climbing off champion sprinter Runhappy on Sunday morning.

"He was wanting to bust off and do more," said O'Donnell, who is a fellow trainer at Runhappy's base at The Thoroughbred Center in Kentucky. "I pulled the irons up a little so I could restrain him."

Runhappy, who had the Keeneland track to himself shortly after it opened for training, rolled through five furlongs in 58.60 seconds, his final prep for his comeback start in the Grade 3 Ack Ack Handicap this Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Hampered by foot problems and bone bruising, Runhappy has not started since winning the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. That was his sixth consecutive victory, and first win at seven furlongs. In the Ack Ack, he will be attempting to successfully stretch out to a mile. His lone prior attempt at a route came when he was ninth in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes going a mile and 70 yards at Fair Grounds in his second career start; he emerged from the race with an injury that laid him up until July, when he launched his current win streak.

The Ack Ack is a planned prep for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita, with the ultimate long-term goal being the $12 million Pegasus World Cup in January at Gulfstream Park.

Runhappy carries an E-Trakka monitor in his saddle pad when he works, which collects data such as his heart rate and stride rate that is then transferred into a computer for analysis. Trainer Laura Wohlers was pleased that his heart rate came down swiftly after the work.

"He's always had a good cardiovascular system," Wohlers said. “He’s ready.”

Runhappy will van from The Thoroughbred Center to Churchill Downs on the morning of the Ack Ack.