Vacation for Get Happy Mister

Get Happy Mister, who won all five of his starts during the Arapahoe Park meet that closed Sunday, has been turned out in a vacation that will last until about the first of the year, said trainer Butch Gleason. The horse is based at the Colorado farm of his owner, Annette Bishop.

“We’re going to let him rest,” Gleason said.

Get Happy Mister won the $100,000 Arapahoe Park Classic by 2 3/4 lengths Saturday to earn a 90 Beyer. He stalked a quick pace and shuttled home under regular rider Mike Ziegler.

“He just laid there third – those horses went so fast – and when they were done, he was ready, and there he went,” Gleason said. “It was one of his best races this season. He’s running awfully good right now. He’s pretty hard to handle.”

Get Happy Mister’s five wins at the Arapahoe meet came by a combined 19 1/4 lengths. Of his wins, four were in stakes. The horse is 9 for 9 at Arapahoe. Gleason said he was touched by how Sunday’s ontrack crowd embraced the Colorado-bred following the Classic.

“He’s a hero out there. People love that horse,” Gleason said Monday from his home in Dodge City, Kan. “A lot of people were hollering, ‘Happy, Happy, Happy,’ when Mike brought him back. I enjoyed it.”

Get Happy Mister is a 4-year-old gelding by First Samurai.

Gleason won the Arapahoe training title with 21 wins from 121 starts and had stable earnings of $369,275. Bishop led all owners in earnings with $240,394, while Donna Eaton was the leading owner in wins with 15. The meet’s leading rider was Travis Wales.