Smile Happy comes into Foster at his peak

Smile Happy as a 2-year-old of 2021 looked like he could be an elite among the elite. He followed a smashing debut with a galloping 3 1/2-length victory in the important Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. His 3-year-old campaign began with a tough-trip second behind Epicenter, the leading colt in his class.

But not until May 5 of this year at Churchill Downs, where he captured the Alysheba Stakes by two lengths over Pegasus World Cup winner Art Collector, did Smile Happy deliver on his promise. He crossed the wire, ears up, running 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.29, a raw time yielding a 110 Beyer Speed Figure, the top two-turn dirt number of 2023.

Smile Happy had reached the summit. We’ll see in the Grade 1, $1 million Stephen Foster on Saturday at Ellis Park if he can stay there.

“We’re pretty confident he can and he will,” said Kenny McPeek, who trains Smile Happy for the Lucky Seven Stable.

Smile Happy is one of eight entered in the 1 1/8-mile Foster, which includes five of the top older horses in Daily Racing Form’s weekly divisional rankings and is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The others are Proxy, winner of the Grade 1 Clark and best last out in the Oaklawn Handicap; Stilleto Boy, who beat Proxy in the Santa Anita Handicap and lost to him at Oaklawn; West Will Power, third in the Alysheba after winning the New Orleans with a 109 Beyer; and Last Samurai, who split Proxy and Stilleto Boy at Oaklawn before an Alysheba clunker.

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Rounding out the best and most important race ever run at Ellis are Rattle N Roll and Speed Bias, one-two in the Pimlico Special, and late-running Happy American.

Saturday’s program of six stakes, moved along with the rest of the Churchill spring meet to Ellis after a rash of racing fatalities, could be held under trying conditions. The forecast high temperature is 94 degrees; the National Weather Service predicts a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms.

Even less predictable: Smile Happy, a 4-year-old son of Runhappy. By the time the 2022 Kentucky Derby rolled around, Smile Happy was struggling physically. He returned from an extended break with a powerful Oaklawn allowance win over Speed Bias on March 16, and McPeek ran Smile Happy back two weeks later because morning training had become so difficult. A quirky horse in the best of times, Smile Happy became even more challenging at Oaklawn.

“He didn’t like the [evironment] down there, and the way he was going we couldn’t even have gotten him to breeze,” McPeek said. “But he’s gotten into gear and been steady since.”

Smile Happy got a sweet trip pressing a moderate pace in the Alysheba. There’s more pace in the Stephen Foster, and the colt will drop farther behind. Neither that nor a stretch from 1 1/16 miles to nine furlongs ought to stop an in-form Smile Happy.

Corey Lanerie, who rode Smile Happy early in his career, has the mount. Brian Hernandez Jr., aboard for the Alysheba, rides Rattle N Roll. Winner of three straight Grade 3 contests, Rattle N Roll’s top race can’t match his stablemate’s best, but he’s a rugged, steady performer who thrives at 1 1/8 miles.

The 1 1/8-mile trip could help West Will Power narrow the 2 3/4 lengths separating him and Smile Happy in the Alysheba.

“I like this horse more going a mile and an eighth,” trainer Brad Cox said. In the Alysheba, Smile Happy pressed West Will Power’s pace. In the Foster, Stilleto Boy and Speed Bias could show the way, giving West Will Power a useful target. “He can get a little lost when he makes the lead.”

If neither Speed Bias nor West Will Power goes hard from the gate, Stilleto Boy, drawn in post 2, becomes a front-running threat over a track surface that has flattered rail speed.

“We’ve been watching that,” trainer Ed Moger Jr. said Wednesday. Moger was in transit from California to Kentucky; Stilleto Boy arrived Tuesday, ate his feed, looked bright Wednesday. Already this year Stilleto Boy has shipped to Florida to finish third in the Pegasus and to Oaklawn, where Stilleto Boy fought off the other speed before falling just short. Stilleto Boy got two weeks of farm rest before resuming training and comes to Ellis fresh.

“He’s always quick out of the gate. He should be on the lead or right there,” Moger said.

Proxy’s narrow win at Oaklawn came in typical fashion. Proxy does he does what he wants and runs when he pleases during races. Last out, the horse only was closing modestly before unleashing a final furlong in 11.47 seconds, including a blazing last 100 yards.

“He could not be doing any better,” trainer Michael Stidham said.

There are concerns, namely a long van ride from Maryland, Proxy’s rail draw, and the nature of the Ellis surface. From post 1 in the Pegasus, Proxy resented dirt thrown in his face and lost all position before the first turn.

Speed Bias needs the race of his life. Happy American isn’t fast enough. Last Samurai’s demanding schedule caught up with him in the Alysheba.

Post time for the Foster is 4:26 p.m. Central. It’s Smile Happy’s time to shine.

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