Smile Happy Draws Outside in Post 10 for Blue Grass

Trainer Ken McPeek is brimming with confidence heading into the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland where he'll saddle the only graded stakes winners entered in the 12-horse field. But one of those graded winners—9-5 morning-line favorite Smile Happy —instills the greatest confidence.

"It is going to take a tough one to beat him. They had better bring a bear," said McPeek ahead of the Blue Grass, among the last 100-point Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying races for the year and one of three being run April 9.

The son of Claiborne Farm's champion sprinter Runhappy   should not only show himself well Saturday but will be fresh to take on the challenging Triple Crown series, said McPeek.

"This is a horse I have been sitting on awhile now, and I've been looking forward to getting him back to the races. I could have made a case to run him in several spots this winter but I only wanted two preps for him going into the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont because he's a horse that can handle that series," he said.

Owned by Michael Mackin's Lucky Seven Stable, Smile Happy won his debut Oct. 21 at Keeneland by 5 1/2 lengths and went on to win the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) by 3 1/4 lengths. He's made one start this year when he was runner-up to Epicenter  in the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Jockey Corey Lanerie, who has been aboard Smile Happy for his last two starts, has the mount in the Blue Grass and will break from post 10.

McPeek and Lucky Seven also have Rattle N Roll  in the Blue Grass, a son of Connect   that won last year's Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland by 4 1/4 lengths. The colt has won twice and placed once out of six lifetime starts. He comes into the Blue Grass off a fourth-place finish in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2). He was being considered for the April 16 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) but McPeek said Rattle N Roll seems better suited to longer distances.

"I have been watching him train the past couple of days and have been pleased with the way he looks and the way he is acting. He really wants more of the mile and an eighth then the mile and sixteenth of the Lexington," he said. "He's already won a grade 1 at Keeneland, and I'd really like to see him run on an off track."

A 50% chance of rain is the Lexington forecast for Saturday with rain on and off in the days leading up. Rattle N Roll has never raced on an off track but his sire got his first win by four lengths on a muddy Belmont Park track.

Rattle N Roll, who is 8-1 in the morning line, will be ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., who has ridden him for five of his six starts. They will break from post 9.

Owner Jeff Drown and trainer Chad Brown have the 5-2 second choice in the Blue Grass field with Zandon , a son of Upstart   who was third in the Risen Star Stakes. Zandon just missed become a graded stakes winner in the Remsen Stakes (G2), where he was nose Mo Donegal . The colt will be ridden by Flavien Prat, who will ride Zandon for the first time. They will break from post 4.

This year's running of the Blue Grass marks the historic Derby prep's return to grade 1 status. The race got downgraded to grade 2 in 2017 primarily due to the change in Keeneland's main track to an all-weather surface in 2006. Horses that succeed on all-weather tracks tend to also thrive on turf, which affected the complexion of Blue Grass fields from 2006-14. Trainers with top dirt horses being aimed for the Kentucky Derby often looked at other preps.

The American Graded Stakes Committee evaluates race grades every year using a four-year quality score that incorporates the highest graded raced won by each starter so its evaluation was influenced by the all-weather years even after Keeneland went back to dirt in 2017.

The Blue Grass earned its grade 1 status because its most recent winners included juvenile champions Essential Quality   (2021) and Good Magic   (2018) and grade 1 winners Vekoma   (2019) and Art Collector  (2020).

On the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule, the Blue Grass awards 100-40-20-10 points to the top four finishers. Smile Happy, as of April 6, ranks 17th with 30 points on the leaderboard. The other preps awarding the same points Saturday are the Wood Memorial Presented by Resorts World Casino (G2) and the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1).

Entries: Toyota Blue Grass S. (G1)

Keeneland, Saturday, April 09, 2022, Race 9

• Grade I
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo
• 5:10 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Commandperformance (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	123	Todd A. Pletcher	12/1
2	2Fenwick (KY)	Paco Lopez	123	Kevin McKathan	20/1
3	3Trademark (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	123	Victoria H. Oliver	30/1
4	4Zandon (KY)	Flavien Prat	123	Chad C. Brown	5/2
5	5Volcanic (KY)	Adam Beschizza	123	Mark E. Casse	20/1
6	6Emmanuel (KY)	Luis Saez	123	Todd A. Pletcher	9/2
7	7Golden Glider (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	123	Mark E. Casse	20/1
8	8Ethereal Road (KY)	Luis Contreras	123	D. Wayne Lukas	20/1
9	9Rattle N Roll (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	123	Kenneth G. McPeek	8/1
10	10Smile Happy (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	123	Kenneth G. McPeek	9/5
11	11Blackadder (KY)	Florent Geroux	123	Rodolphe Brisset	20/1
12	12Grantham (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	123	Michael J. Maker	20/1