Smile Happy
Dark Bay or Brown Colt / February 19th, 2019 in KY / by Runhappy out of Pleasant Smile
$470,080
2023 earnings
117
speed figure
67%
2023 wins
racing Record
2023 Stats
Career Stats
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2
Firsts
4
0
Seconds
2
1
Thirds
1
0
Unplaced
1
3
Starts
8
$470,080
Earnings
$1,019,890
$156,693
Earnings / Start
$127,486
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Bio
Smile Happy made his debut in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Keeneland on Oct. 29, 2021. He made a bold move to the lead on the turn and drew off handily to win by 5 1/2 lengths.
Smile Happy made his next start in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 27. He won by 3 1/4 lengths, and earned 10 qualifying points towards the 2022 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.
Smile Happy made his debut in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Keeneland on Oct. 29, 2021. He made a bold move to the lead on the turn and drew off handily to win by 5 1/2 lengths.
Smile Happy made his next start in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 27. He won by 3 1/4 lengths, and earned 10 qualifying points towards the 2022 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.
Off that performance, Smile Happy was the 2.20-1 favorite in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford at Fair Grounds on Feb. 19. He drafted in eighth place early on, and although he closed well late, he could not catch pace-setting Epicenter. For his second-place finish, Smile Happy earned 20 more qualifying points.
Smile Happy next shipped to Lexington, Ky., for the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. April 9 at Keeneland. In his final prep for the 2022 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the Runhappy colt surged to the lead in early stretch but could not hold off a late rally from Zandon and settled for second place. The 40 points gave him plenty to guarantee a spot in the starting gate May 7 at Churchill Downs.
Smile Happy raced in mid-pack in the Kentucky Derby and made a bid for the lead, moving to within two lengths of the front, but he faded late in the first jewel of the Triple Crown and finished eighth, 10 lengths behind 80-1 upset winner Rich Strike. He did not race again in 2022.
Smile Happy returned from a layoff of more than 10 months after he was sidelined with some bone bruising, and the Runhappy colt won a 1 1/8-mile optional-claiming race at Oaklawn Park March 16, 2023. He followed with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile Stakes in April.
Smile Happy regained his top form in a big way on Longines Kentucky Oaks day May 5, 2023, at Churchill Downs. He pressed favored West Will Power early in the $600,000 Alysheba Stakes presented by Sentient Jet and powered clear to win by two lengths for his first stakes victory in more than 17 months.
Smile Happy sold for $185,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase in 2020.
