McPeek Duo Looms Large in Stephen Foster

Kenny McPeek has managed to keep Lucky Seven Stable's talented pair Smile Happy (Runhappy) and Rattle N Roll (Connect) away from the same starting gate until now, but on Saturday the stablemates will meet for the first time in the GI Stephen Foster S. Set to run this year at Ellis Park, the mile-and-an-eighth contest drew a field of eight and is a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders Cup Classic.

Smile Happy and Rattle N Roll share more than a few similarities, but the main parallel is that the 4-year-olds are both on skyrocketing career trajectories with the potential for big summer campaigns ahead.

A 'TDN Rising Star' and the winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at two, Smile Happy was a contender leading up to the Kentucky Derby last year, but he settled for eighth on the first Saturday in May. After a long layoff, the son of Runhappy returned a winner at Oaklawn in March and finished third in the GII Oaklawn Mile S. before his breakout performance in the GII Alysheba S., where he earned a 110 Beyer Speed Figure.

“This is a fantastic, talented horse,” said Kenny McPeek. “As a 2-year-old he didn't win a Grade I, but the Kentucky Jockey Club showed he had such raw talent. He needed an extended vacation after the Derby last year. He had a slight case of distal bone bruising, which is difficult to get a horse to rebound from quickly. We gave him a lot of time and he's come back a better horse. The race in the Alysheba showed how freaky talented he is.”

Allowing Smile Happy the time off to improve physically has been one key to his success this year, but another factor has been figuring the colt out mentally. McPeek explained that this trainee can be quirky, noting that the colt doesn't respond well to disruptions in his routine and requires some extra attention on race day.

“During the post parade, he wants to back up and then not come back to the gate,” McPeek shared. “So we learned a little trick to get him back to the gate. The race at Oaklawn [Oaklawn Mile] was a little bit short for him, but then we spaced off that and came into the Alysheba and now we've got the gate trick worked out. He tests you, this horse, but my goodness he's so talented. Figuring him out in the mornings has been tricky because at Oaklawn he didn't want to train, at Fair Grounds he trained well, and then we've figured out his number at Churchill. I don't see this horse training anywhere but Churchill probably for the rest of his career. When it's open, he'll be there.”

Rattle N Roll gets a pre-race mint and pep talk from his groom, Peter Soria | Sara Gordon

Fellow Lucky Seven Stables colorbearer Rattle N Roll also showed potential as a juvenile when he claimed the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, but he struggled to find the winner's circle early in his 3-year-old season. While he did not make the Kentucky Derby, he later claimed a trio of summer derbies including the GIII Oklahoma Derby.

After a brief layoff over the winter, Rattle N Roll returned this spring to run fourth in the GII New Orleans Classic S. at Fair Grounds and then launch a winning tear over the course of six weeks, claiming the GIII Ben Ali S., GIII Pimlico Special S. and GIII Blame S.

“He's been a good horse from the beginning,” McPeek said. “When he won a Grade I at Keeneland, we knew we had our hands on a really good one. He's a get-the-job-done type of horse. When Flavien Prat rode him in the Pimlico Special, he nailed it right on time. Then when he came back in the Blame at Churchill, once again, he got the job done. He had a really troubled trip in that race and won anyway. He's a very workmanlike, easy horse to be around.”

Never one to adhere to a training rule book, McPeek 'wowed' the crowd at Churchill Downs when Rattle N Roll won the Blame S. just two weeks after he got the nose at Pimlico. McPeek explained the reasoning behind the quick return to the races.

“I think today, especially with the no Lasix in a lot of these graded races, if you've got a horse and it's sturdy enough and they're eating well and they're doing well, I don't see any reason why they can't run or shouldn't run,” he said. “I'm not one that subscribes to, 'They have to be spaced six weeks in between races to run their best race.' I do believe that people buy their horses to race them as opposed to watching them train and then running sparingly. I suppose I'm going to be criticized by some by doing that and that's fine as long as we run well and we win.”

Some might even scratch their head at McPeek's choice to enter this duo in the same Grade I contest, but the veteran trainer said that he believes the race is the best spot for each colt as individuals.

“I think it was obvious that the race for Smile Happy was the Stephen Foster and we've been plotting for this one for a couple of months,” he shared. “We'd like to go Stephen Foster to Whitney. With Rattle N Roll and the series of wins he's had, the options for him were I could have taken him to the [Prairie Meadows] Cornhusker H., which would have been another Grade III, or I could have taken him to the Suburban S. in New York, which is a Grade II. It's a lovely race, but it's not two turns so I was a little bit concerned about changing his routine from two turns to one turn.  With a clear mind, it was the right spot for both horses.”

Rattle N Roll and Smile Happy were part of the first crop of yearlings that McPeek bought for the Mackin family's Lucky Seven Stable in 2020. Rattle N Roll was a $210,000 Keeneland September purchase for McPeek and Smile Happy was a $185,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings buy for Lucky Seven.

The Mackins have had success in the sport both individually and as a family over several decades, but campaigning a pair of top-level older dirt colts ranks near the top of their accomplishments.

“The Mackin family has been in the game for 30 or 40 years,” McPeek shared. “They love racing, between Mike, Craig, Jeff, Jay and their sister Kim. Their mother and father made seven, but both have passed away. I'm sure that their mother and father would be really thrilled to know the kind of success they're having and we're going to try to keep it going for them. They're wonderful people and really deserve this kind of success.”

Smile Happy looks to get his first Grade I win in Saturday's GI Stephen Foster S. | Sara Gordon

McPeek will be looking to earn his first Stephen Foster victory on Saturday.

Rattle N Roll drew the fourth position and will team up with his regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. Alongside him in the five hole, Smile Happy will be ridden by Corey Lanerie, who was aboard for the colt's sophomore campaign last year.

The field also includes GII Oaklawn H. one-two-three finishers of Godolphin's Proxy (Tapit), Last Samurai (Malibu Moon)–who subsequently ran fourth in the Alysheba–and California-based Stilleto Boy (Shackleford). Ron Moquett's Speed Bias (Uncle Mo), who came close to besting Rattle N Roll in the GIII Pimlico Special, dominant GII New Orleans Classic winner West Will Power (Bernardini), and Lothenbach Stables' Happy American (Runhappy) round out the race.

Also on Saturday at Ellis Park, McPeek will be represented in the GII Wise Dan by Camp Hope (Summer Front). The 5-year-old Walking L Thoroughbreds representative was winless in his first four starts this year, but he scored in an allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs in June.

“He's been really solid,” McPeek reported. “He won the Bryan Station S. at Keeneland as a 3-year-old. He didn't have a great 4-year-old year, but he seems to be coming back to form as a 5-year-old and his last race was superb. Brian [Hernandez Jr.] has figured him out and really rides him well.”

Camp Hope will have to take on Set Piece (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who is defending his Wise Dan title from 2021 and comes in off a win in the GIII Arlington S. on June 3. The 7-year-old Juddmonte homebred is trained by Brad Cox, who has won three of the last four editions of the turf contest.

GIII Arlington S. runner-up Get Smokin (Get Stormy) and third-place finisher Harlan Estate (Kantharos) will also vie for contention in the 10-horse field.

Rounding out the graded stakes action at Ellis on Saturday, the GII Fleur de Lis S. drew seven fillies and mares headlined by Grade I winners Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) and A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo).

The McPeek-Mackin partnership will be represented by one last stakes contender over the weekend and it's one that McPeek is more than happy to discuss.

V V's Dream was Mitole's first North American winner when she dominated in her juvenile debut on May 19 at Churchill Downs. Completing five furlongs in :57.91, her 6 1/4-length score earned 'TDN Rising Star' honors.

“V V's Dream is any kind of horse,” said McPeek. “I mean, that filly is really high-level talented.”

The $190,000 Keeneland September purchase is owned by Mike Mackin's MJM Racing and she will return to the starting gate on Sunday for the Debutante S.

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Public Sector Seeks Fourth Straight Win in Hollywood Derby

Klaravich Stables' Public Sector (GB) (Kingman {GB}) looks to register his fourth straight win Saturday in the GI Hollywood Derby at Del Mar. The bay kicked off his hot streak with a win in Saratoga's GII Hall of Fame S. Aug. 6 and took the GIII Saranac S. there next out Sept. 4. He enters this off a win in the nine-panel GII Hill Prince S. at Belmont Oct. 23. His conditioner, Chad Brown, also saddles Sifting Sands (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was seventh in the Hill Prince, but captured Saratoga's Better Talk Now S. Aug. 29.

LNJ Foxwoods' Subconscious (Tapit) also enters on a three-race win streak. Breaking his maiden at fourth asking at this venue Aug. 21, the dark bay captured a Santa Anita optional claimer Oct. 2 and returned 29 days latet to win the GII Twilight Derby.

Ken McPeek ships in with Camp Hope (Summer Front), who romped in a Keeneland allowance Oct. 8. The bay was a decisive winner of the Lexington oval's Bryant Station S. last out Oct. 30, earning a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Godolphin homebred Santin (Distorted Humor) puts his undefeated record on the line as he takes a big step up in class in this event. A debut winner at Indiana Grand Sept. 29, the bay rallied to victory in a Keeneland allowance Oct. 23.

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From Camp Hope to Hollywood Derby

Camp Hope, a 3-year-old son of Summer Front who made it to the winner's circle on both opening day and closing day of Keeneland's fall meet, will take on Grade I company in Saturday's Hollywood Derby at Del Mar. The Kenny McPeek trainee carries the silks of owner Walking L Thoroughbreds, but his earnings go toward the important facility he was named after.

An intensive residential program in Houston, Texas, Camp Hope provides treatment for combat veterans suffering from trauma and PTSD. The facility opened its doors in 2012 and has since brought in over 1,600 veterans.

“Camp Hope is the residential program of the PTSD Foundation of America,” the program's Executive Director David Maulsby explained. “We bring in combat veterans from every era of war and every military branch. It is a peer-to-peer based program and is about six to eight months in length, although it can be up to a little over a year on occasion. Everything we do is absolutely free for our veterans and their family members. It's all about changing the trajectory of their life and trying to stop the ever-increasing suicide rate in our military.”

Scott Leeds, the founder of Walking L Thoroughbreds, was drawn to support Camp Hope through his racing stable when he learned of their goal of decreasing the average of 22 veterans who are lost every day to suicide.

“The simple mission of Camp Hope is for that number to become 21 or 20 or any number closer to zero than to 22 every day,” Leeds said. “Their goal is to let these guys live a life that isn't about whatever problems they might have. It's about being able to go to the grocery store without worrying about if there's something in a trash can that's going to blow up. You listen to these guys tell their stories and it just makes you want to do more.”

Residents of Camp Hope facility celebrated as the equine Camp Hope won on debut last October and brought attention to his namesake when he made it to the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but they waited until nearly a year later for him to claim his next win.

David Mausby (far left) with staff and residents of Camp Hope | photo courtesy PTSD Foundation

The tables turned this summer when the colt switched over to the turf. After a pair of third-place finishes at Saratoga and Kentucky Downs, Camp Hope defeated allowance company by over five lengths on Keeneland's opening day and then took his second straight victory three weeks later in the Bryan Station S.

The next morning, residents of Camp Hope gathered for their weekly Sunday morning meeting. As the group sat down, Maulsby began playing the video of Camp Hope's win from the day before.

“I didn't tell them what to expect,” Maulsby recalled. “I just said, 'Hey guys, here are some great friends who are helping share our story and they named their horse in honor of what happens here.' As Camp Hope pulled away, it got pretty rowdy inside the multipurpose building. It was very exciting for them to see somebody recognize what's going on here and want to tell the story to the rest of the world.”

Camp Hope's residential program has seen a dramatic increase in intake since the onset of the pandemic. Early in 2020, their capacity averaged 65 residents. Today, that number has increased to 95.

“Many veterans who were going to the VA were told not to come back because they closed the doors to anything other than physical emergencies,” Maulsby said. “So our numbers increased not only with our intake here, but with our outreach programs as well.”

Maulsby shared the story of one recent graduate  who came to the facility during the height of the pandemic. The Vietnam veteran had been struggling with addiction and self-medication for five decades and was receiving help from the VA in his home city until they closed their doors.

“When they told him not to come back, he converted back. It was the only coping mechanism he had. About three weeks later, he ended up having to be taken back into the hospital because of the addiction and because he was suicidal.”

A case worker at the hospital told the veteran about Camp Hope. After participating in the program for over a year, he was able to return home.

“He is connecting with family members who never wanted to be a part of his life because of his behaviors,” Maulsby said. “It's exciting to see that joy back in his life and see family members come back in his life after three destroyed marriages over the years. He's rebuilding those connections and he points to Camp Hope for all of that.”

Despite an increased number of residents, the facility felt the impacts of the pandemic when they were forced to cancel their annual funding events last year.

“Camp Hope is operated primarily through fundraising events more so than a lot of nonprofits that might have endowments that could keep up with the lack of events,” Leeds explained. “These folks had to scramble to look for other ways to raise funds. Everyone who works here puts in seven days a week and it's not all success stories. One veteran just graduated and it was his fourth time being there. But they kept opening the door and saying, 'Yes, we're going to try this again.' The fourth time around, he spent eight months there and finally had his success story.”

Leeds and his wife Dana first became involved with Camp Hope and the PTSD Foundation through their colt Fighting Seabee (Summer Front), winner of the 2019 GIII With Anticipation S.

Residents of Camp Hope receive training in behavior modification, emotional control, anger management and workforce development | photo courtesy PTSD Foundation

“For both Camp Hope and Fighting Seabee to be stakes winners, we know this business and know there's a very small percent chance for that to happen, so there's karma at work when we picked those two horses [to race for a cause],” Leeds said. “The funds they have earned are great and add to what we already would have been giving to Camp Hope anyways, but the ability to use their success to get the message out is what, to me, has been the greatest benefit.  Now that Camp Hope is in a graded stake, there's an opportunity to get broader media exposure to share that this horse has a cool name for a reason.”

Leeds said that between Camp Hope and Fighting Seabee, over $40,000 has been sent to Camp Hope and the PTSD Foundation, including $13,000 from Camp Hope's back-to-back wins at Keeneland last month.

“Going into the allowance at Keeneland, we expected him to win, but we didn't expect him to win by five lengths,” he said. “The timing worked out well to put him in the stakes race on closing day. The horse has matured significantly as the year has gone on and our biggest concern coming out of the Bryan Station was that there were no turf races at Churchill Downs and we didn't want to slow down on a horse that was in such a groove. We thought the Hollywood Derby was a really good spot. It's a step up, but we feel good about how he matches up.”

Leeds added that trainer-jockey connections Kenny McPeek and Brian Hernandez, Jr. share his confidence going into the Grade I.

“Kenny's feedback has been that this is the best shape this horse has ever been in,” Leeds said.” After the last race, Brian said he had plenty of horse under him, which you can see with how he finished the race. The mile and an eighth is not a concern because he won the allowance at the same distance. I think it all lines up to be a good way to finish the year off . The way this horse has matured and with the surface change, there are a lot of opportunities as we look ahead to his 4-year-old campaign.”

Walking L Thoroughbreds has been in the Thoroughbred business for less than a decade, but Leeds shared that they have recently ventured into the breeding side of the game with an ownership share in Lane's End first-crop stallion Unified.

Camp Hope gets his first stakes win in the Bryan Station S. | Coady

“We made the decision that for anything we own that is related to Unified-the horses we breed to race, any yearlings or weanlings we sell-the proceeds are going to be shared with the PTSD Foundation. We like that because it's something that will keep on giving without us having to choose a specific horse. Now it's going to be any horse that comes through our Unified connection.”

For Leeds, the draw to support these organizations came through his grandfathers, who were both WWII veterans. Through his exposure to the work done at Camp Hope, he said the programs have become even more meaningful.

“Until the day my grandfather died, the thing he was most proud of besides his family was the time that he served our country,” Leeds shared. “The WWII veterans didn't even know what PTSD was, but I know for a fact that it was something that affected my grandfather for the rest of his life. I know if he knew what we were doing and what was happening at Camp Hope, he would want to be talking about it to everyone he knew. It's this little spot of land nestled in the suburbs of Houston, but to know what happens there, if we can tell one person every time we get a chance, I want to do that. These guys touch your heart, knowing what's going on there. It's just a really special feeling.”

The holiday season is a busy time at Camp Hope. Volunteers come in with dozens of smoked turkeys and twice as many freshly-baked pies. Hundreds of presents are wrapped and shipped out to the veterans' families back home.

And yet, it's almost inevitable that a veteran will show up on their doorstep on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.

“It's heartbreaking to watch,” Maulsby said. “You think, 'How dark does your life have to be that this is the day you step away from your family and into a program where you're going to be gone from them for six months to a year?' But on the brighter side of that, they are starting on that day the work that needs to be done to change the trajectory of their lives.”

“Some pretty amazing things happen on these five acres of land,” he continued. “We have a great community that supports us and they understand that it takes more than a bumper sticker on the back of your car to support our troops.”

For more information on Camp Hope and the PTSD Foundation of America, click here.

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Del Mar Prepares For Turf Festival To Close Out Bing Crosby Season

The close of entries and post position draw for Del Mar's Thanksgiving Day card that includes the $100,000 Grade 3 Red Carpet Stakes is set for Satuday afternoon. On Sunday, similar procedures will be conducted for the Friday program with the $250,000 G2 Hollywood Turf Cup at the Del Mar, Calif., racetrack.

So begins the staging process for the four-day, seven-stakes Turf Festival that will wrap up the Bing Crosby Season at the track. And if the seven previous such closing stands of the fall meeting are any indication, the eager anticipation felt by horsemen and fans is more than justified.

A contingent of quality shippers from the east will arrive Monday or Tuesday in numbers that racing secretary David Jerkens expects will be similar to past years from the stables of trainers whose names top, or are highly stationed, on national lists.

Chad Brown has won nine Turf Festival races, with emphasis on the G1 events – Saturday's $400,000 Hollywood Derby and Sunday's $400,000 Matriarch – where he's notched three in each. He's expected to put seven or eight on the westbound plane, among them defending Matriarch champ Viadera. Brown has multiple graded stakes winner Public Sector and Sifting Sands nominated for the Hollywood Derby and Turf Cup nominee Rockemperor stabled at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and available for the relatively short trip down the freeway.

Michael Stidham's Princess Grace, who shipped in to win the Yellow Ribbon in the summer and returned for a third-place finish as favorite in the G2 Goldikova during Breeders' Cup Week, has remained on the grounds and is nominated for the Matriarch. So has Goldikova runner-up Zofelle for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Trainer H. Graham Motion, who has notched Red Carpet, Jimmy Durante, and Seabiscuit Stakes wins in past Turf Festivals, has a handful of horses on-site and could bring in reinforcements considering his six stakes nominees. Ken McPeek has indicated he will be sending Camp Hope, a winner of two starts in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and Greg Sacco is sending It Can Be Done off a third-place finish, beaten two lengths by Public Sector in the Hill Prince on October 23 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

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