Runhappy Untouchable in Malibu Victory

Controversy aside, Runhappy is still a monster.



James McIngvale's 3-year-old sprinting superstar became a three-time grade I winner Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park, where he set the pace and pulled away from the field to win the $300,000 Malibu Stakes (gr. I) by 3 1/2 lengths in front of a crowd of 44,873 at the Arcadia, Calif. racetrack. 



The victory gave trainer Laura Wohlers—who is also McIngvale’s racing manager and previously trained Runhappy—her first grade I victory and her first graded score all in one shot. She took over from trainer Maria Borell after the Super Saver   colt claimed the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) Oct. 31 at Keeneland. Borell has a lawsuit pending against McIngvale, seeking money from purses the colt earned under her care.

BALAN: Borell Files Lawsuit Against McIngvales



Runhappy clicked off fractions of :22.62, :44.81, and 1:09.06 through six furlongs under Gary Stevens, aboard for the first time, and hit the wire in 1:21.76 to claim the seven-furlong event.

"He blows me away," Stevens said. "That was only the second time I've sat on him and to get to feel that power coming into the stretch was awesome."



Godolphin Racing's Marking pressed the pace early, but quickly settled into second and followed the winner all the way to the finish line. Grade II winner Lord Nelson checked in third, 1 3/4 lengths back.

"When we brought him to the receiving barn today, he looked like he had his game face on," Wohlers said. "I knew he'd run well."

Sent off as the 1-2 favorite, Runhappy paid $3, $2.60, and $2.10 across the board. Marking brought $4 and $3, while Lord Nelson delivered $3.20 to show.

El Kabeir, Watershed, Pain and Misery, and Bad Read Sanchez completed the order of finish.

Runhappy—who was bred in Kentucky by Wayne, Gray, and Bryan Lyster out of the Broken Vow   mare Bella Jolie—now has seven wins from eight starts, with more than $1.4 million in earnings. His only misfire was a ninth-place finish in the LeComte Stakes (gr. III) last January, his last race for Wohlers before moving into the care of Borell.

Although he'll head to Texas next to rest for a couple months, McIngvale and Wohlers both indicated targets in 2016. Wohlers said after the race they intend on stretching the colt out to a mile in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) and McIngvale indicated he'd like to return to Santa Anita to defend his Breeders' Cup Sprint title.

"We'll give the horse a couple of months off and bring him back in March and begin his training again, and we'll see if we have tim to prep him in a race before the Met Mile," Wohlers said.