Santa Anita Derby: So Happy surges late to give Glatt an emotional victory
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ARCADIA, Calif. – The person missing from the Santa Anita Derby celebration on Saturday was the person trainer Mark Glatt most wanted to be there.
Less than two months after his wife Dena died from cardiac arrest at 57, Glatt-trained So Happy scored an emotional victory over even-money favorite Potente in the Santa Anita Derby.
So Happy is going to the Kentucky Derby. And for the first time, so is trainer Mark Glatt. But he acknowledged heartache after the Santa Anita Derby. He misses his late wife, Dena. They were married 25 years, with three children.
“It’s not the same, I can’t help wishing she was here,” Glatt said.
In a spiritual way, Dena Glatt was at Santa Anita on Saturday. At least, that is what jockey Mike Smith said after he rode So Happy to the victory.
He referred to Glatt’s “wonderful, beautiful wife Dena,” and said “I called on her at the eighth pole – c’mon Dena, get me home.”
So Happy got him home. The son of Runhappy won the Santa Anita Derby by 2 3/4 lengths over even-money favorite Potente. Vitruvian Man finished third, followed across the wire by Intrepido, Star the Ride, Cherokee Nation and Robusta.
The final time for the 1 1/8-mile race was 1:49.01. So Happy earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 100.
The decisive victory by So Happy ($16.60) answered doubts that a colt by sprinter Runhappy can stay the distance. And it came one month after he tired to third racing 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 2 San Felipe. Smith felt he was riding a different horse in the Santa Anita Derby.
“He’s fitter,” Smith said. “He looked heavy (last time). Today, he looked fit.”
So Happy was more relaxed during the running of the Santa Anita Derby. Rather than engage the leaders early, like last out, So Happy positioned comfortably three-wide just off. When pacesetter Potente disposed of early rival Robusta, So Happy attacked.
“He kept on going today,” Smith said. “Today he really felt fit and ready to race.”
Potente, favored off his victory in the San Felipe, had no excuse other than a contested pace. When his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Cherokee Nation stumbled and broke last, Potente inherited pacesetting duties.
“Today he broke running, he broke beautiful,” Potente’s jockey Juan Hernandez said. “He broke in front, he was comfortable. I just got some pressure from the outside all race, and it’s hard for (Potente). It was too much pressure.”
Potente, who earned 50 points and is all but ensured a Kentucky Derby berth with 100 points total, finished 6 3/4 lengths clear of third.
Cherokee Nation, the 3-1 second choice off a 100 Beyer maiden win, was eliminated early. “He kind of fell onto his knees,” jockey Florent Geroux said. “He didn’t (stand) good in the gate, he was a little bit of a handful.” Cherokee Nation has a history of gate issues.
Intrepido raced wide from midpack and lacked a rally. Robusta, who at 8-1 was cold in the betting off a runner-up finish in the San Felipe, pressed and cracked.
As for the winner, Glatt was optimistic the son of Runhappy would stay 1 1/8 miles.
“I was really confident in the horse. Good horses a lot of times are freaks,” Glatt said. “You know, he gets some stamina on the bottom side with Blame, but the Runhappys are primarily sprinters. So in the back of your head, until they do it you don’t always believe it.
“But he’s got the frame, he’s got the body of a horse that should relish two turns. He never gets tired, and he has a lot of the attributes that you need to have in order to go long.”
Glatt watched the Santa Anita Derby with his owners and family. So Happy’s majority owners are Hans and Ana Maron, who race as Saints or Sinners Stable. So Happy is co-owned by Robbie Norman’s Norman Stable.
“We really have had (support), and it’s helped us get through the most difficult thing I’ve ever encountered in my life,” Glatt said.
Winning the Santa Anita Derby is a big deal, but Glatt admitted wishing Dena was with him to enjoy the moment.
“I’m enjoying it. It’s a heck of an accomplishment. I can’t help wishing she was here.”
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