Smile Happy wins Alysheba like a horse who's going places
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In an older male dirt division seemingly lacking depth, Smile Happy may have signaled he could be a player with a solid two-length victory in Friday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Pressing the pace of 3-5 favorite West Will Power, Smile Happy took command straightening away in the lane of the 1 1/16-mile race, then ran away from Art Collector. Art Collector, the Pegasus World Cup winner, finished second by three-quarters of a length over West Will Power. Last Samurai finished fourth followed by 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike and Milliken. Giant Game scratched.
Smile Happy, a 4-year-old son of Runhappy owned Michael Malkin’s Lucky Seven Stable and trained by Ken McPeek, won for the third time in eight career starts. It was his first win since he captured the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes here as a 2-year-old.
Last year, Smile Happy finished second to the likes of Epicenter and Zandon in graded stakes leading to the Kentucky Derby, where he finished eighth.
McPeek said Smile Happy came out of the Derby with bone bruising and ultimately was given the remainder of the year off. He came back with an allowance win in March at Oaklawn followed by third-place finish in the Oaklawn Mile.
Smile Happy had raced off the pace in most of his races. Friday, under Brian Hernandez Jr., Smile Happy pressed West Will Power, under Flavien Prat, through splits of 24.30 seconds for the quarter, 47.30 for the half and 1:11.50 for six furlongs.
Hernandez said he was surprised how easily Smile Happy was traveling and knew he’d have horse for the stretch.
“I was pressing it, but he got to his position so easy around the first turn,” Hernandez said. “I expected to be three or four back, but he put himself in such a good spot and from there we were pretty confident. He had his ears up flipping back and forth and just cruising the whole way.”
Smile Happy covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.29 and returned $17.48 as the fourth choice. Smile Happy earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 110.
McPeek said that sometimes the hardest part of a race for Smile Happy is getting him to the gate.
“He’s known to back up and doesn’t want to go to the gate,” McPeek said. “He’s very much an alpha but he can run like the wind.”
The Grade 1 Stephen Foster here on July 1 could be a next spot for Smile Happy.
Junior Alvarado said he thought he was getting the same trip on Art Collector he had when he upset the Pegasus at 15-1 at Gulfstream Park.
“Everything was going smooth, exactly as I wanted,” he said. “When we turned for home my horse kept grinding and grinding, but never enough to get that other horse.”
Rich Strike, last year’s 80-1 upset winner of the Kentucky Derby, was making his first start since he finished last in the Grade 1 Clark here on Nov. 25. Friday, he sat in his usual spot at the back of the pack but did very little running, getting beat 16 3/4 lengths.
“What can I say, it’s been almost six months without him running,” jockey Sonny Leon said. “I thought he needed the race. Hopefully, he comes back good.”
Eric Reed, the trainer of Rich Strike, said he was “unusually disappointed” in that performance.
“I’m not sure what’s going on,” Reed said. “I expected him to finish better. He was where he was supposed to be but he didn’t fire at all.”
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