Borell Out as Trainer for Runhappy

A day after Maria Borell won the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) with Runhappy, the trainer learned she will no longer be conditioning the horse for owner James McIngvale.

Borell took to Twitter Nov. 1 to inform her followers of the switch.

"(Runhappy) had (filling) and heat in an ankle this morning, (and McIngvale’s racing manager Laura Wohlers) wanted to send him to the track," Borell said on the social network. "Now she tells me I'm gone… Just went from the best day of my life to the worst day of my life… Since the King’s Bishop, it's been a fight about everyone wanting to change everything."

Wohlers, who trained the Super Saver   colt previously, said the decision to change trainers was made well before the disagreement in the morning. Wohlers also said they always jog Runhappy after races and that a vet did not find any problems with his front legs.

"We wanted to take him to the track to jog and Maria said she felt some heat. Laura didn't, so it was decided to go ahead and tack-walk him instead. Runhappy went outside to graze in his paddock and had a great day," added Laura McIngvale Brown, McIngvale's daughter. "This is an issue that has actually been going on for quite a while. My dad wants to be very honest with people and if people want to come out and see the horse tomorrow and watch him train, they are more than welcome to.

"We really respect Maria. We think she's done a great job, but unfortunately it was time for us, as a team, to move forward."

Runhappy will remain under the care of Wohlers, who may train the colt toward the Malibu Stakes (gr. I) late in the year at Santa Anita Park, or another trainer could take over.

NOVAK: Runhappy Sets Track Record in BC Sprint

"The decision to move in a different direction was not made today," Wohlers said. "This morning there was no filling. I've checked horses 100,000 times in my life. He had some heat, but nothing more than any other horse who ran 1:08 and change. We jog him after races to get rid of lactic acid buildup and (Borell) has disagreed in the past."

Wohlers said she is considering sending Runhappy to San Luis Rey Training Center where he can train toward the Malibu, a fact McIngvale Brown reiterated.

"We plan on possibly taking him to the West Coast to possibly run in some other races and when we were discussing that plan awhile back Maria noted that she runs a farm here and has her own horses here (at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Kentucky) and that wasn't going to be an option for her, so we have to plan on what's best for the horse and his career," McIngvale Brown said.

Racing without the anti-bleeding drug Lasix, Runhappy has won five races in a row, including the Sprint Oct. 31 in a track-record 1:08.58 at Keeneland. Wohlers was listed as the trainer of record for the colt's maiden start Dec. 28 of last year, a Turfway Park sprint on the all-weather track he won by 8 1/4 lengths. He raced under her name during a ninth-place finish in the Jan. 17 LeComte Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in his next start, then went to the sidelines until July, when he returned victorious in an allowance at Indiana Grand. Borell was listed as his trainer then and for the following four races, including victories in the NYRA.com King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I) and the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (gr. III).

"It was a conflict of interest," Wohlers said. "I wish her the best. She's been a big part of this horse's success, but we're going to be headed in a different direction."

Wohlers also bristled at the implication Borell made that the racing manager was not doing what was in the best interest of the horse.

"I've always cared about this horse," Wohlers said. "Her implication that I don't care about this horse—that's not going to be said to me."

"Laura Wohlers, more than anything else, has done completely right by these horses," McIngvale Brown said. "She lives and breathes and dies by these horses. That is the reason she was brought here from Houston before the King's Bishop—to make sure that this barn runs properly. Laura is the trainer of record now."

Borell has declined requests for comment by Blood-Horse.

Evan Hammonds contributed to this story.