Ken McPeek | Horse Racing Free Tips

Smile Happy Possible for Florida Derby

Lucky Seven Stable's Smile Happy (Runhappy) is among possible candidates for Gulfstream's GI Curlin Florida Derby Apr. 2, according to trainer Ken McPeek. Lucky Seven Stable also owns McPeek-trained Rattle N Roll (Connect), who is scheduled to make his 2022 debut in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 5 at Gulfstream. Smile Happy had been expected to make his second start of the year in either the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 9 or the GII Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Mar. 26.

“You may see him in the Florida Derby,” said McPeek, who saddled Harlan's Holiday for a victory in the 2002 renewal. “I'm going to try and keep him and Rattle separated because they have the same owner. You'll see one in the Blue Grass and one in the Florida Derby following the Fountain of Youth.”

Smile Happy and Rattle N Roll are both stabled at Gulfstream. Smile Happy had a series of six workouts at Gulfstream prior to his second-place effort in the Feb. 19 GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds.

“This is a really good horse,” said McPeek. “He ran well in New Orleans. I think he could have been a tad closer, but the pace didn't set up well for him. He still showed real bravery to run late. This horse has a very bright future.”

Smile Happy won at first asking at Keeneland Oct. 29, closing from off the pace to win easily going 8 1/2 furlongs. He returned to capture the Nov. 27 GII Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs by 3 1/4 lengths, defeating Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), who subsequently won the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa and third-place finisher White Abarrio (Race Day), winner of the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream in their respective 2022 debuts.

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Tiz the Bomb to Be Pointed Toward Epsom Derby

Never afraid to try something different or to think outside the box, trainer Kenny McPeek is preparing Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) for a trip to the U.K. that could include starts in the G1 Qipco 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Apr. 30 and G1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom on June 4.

The story was first reported by Thoroughbred Racing Commentary.

“Who wouldn't want to win a race like the English Derby?” McPeek said. “It would be special, really special. What was it that Tesio said? The entire breed of the Thoroughbred is judged on one wooden post, the finish line of the Epsom Derby. Is it a trainer's dream to win that kind of race? Absolutely.”

Tiz the Bomb was primarily a turf horse during his 2-year-old year. After the colt broke his maiden on the dirt on July 2 at Ellis Park, McPeek switched him to the grass and he won the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S. and the GII Bourbon S. before finishing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Hoping that Tiz the Bomb could run well enough on the dirt to merit a look at the GI Kentucky Derby, McPeek entered the colt in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream, but did not get the result he was hoping for. Tiz the Bomb finished a distant seventh.

“He didn't handle the dirt in his face in his last race,” the trainer said. “He's a really talented colt, but he didn't handle the kickback. Considering the fact that I have other Kentucky Derby prospects, there's no sense kidding ourselves and trying to force a round peg into a square hole with this horse. If he's a grass horse he's a grass horse.”

Bringing Tiz the Bomb to England to race will require a change in ownership. He has been racing for Phoenix Thoroughbred, LTD., whose founder Amer Abdulaziz Salman is banned from competing at the U.K. racetracks. It has been alleged that Abdulaziz laundered money as part of a scam involving a fake cryptocurrency. He has denied the allegations. McPeek said that he will lease the horse from Phoenix for the U.K. races and that he will race in the name of McPeek's Magdalena Racing.

“We have to pay all the declarations and fees,” McPeek said. “For me, [Abdulaziz] has been a very honorable client. I think he is a passionate and a good horse owner. I don't know the deep dive details of the things he's dealing with. He assures me he's working on it and trying to get things cleaned up. He loves the game. Whether it's in his colors or mine, the horse deserves a chance at races like this. That's my focus.”

The trip to the U.K. will be part of an ambitious campaign McPeek has laid out that will begin with Mar. 5 John Battaglia Memorial S., which will be run in the synthetic surface at Turfway Park.

“I want to get his confidence back and I think the Battaglia is a good spot to do that,” McPeek said. “He was a little shook up after the race in Florida. He was a little confused. It was adversity that he had never had to experience. I think the Battaglia is good race to get his mind back on track.

McPeek said the Apr. 2 GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks, also on the synthetic surface at Turfway, could be next, followed by the trip to Europe and the 2000 Guineas.

McPeek was among the first U.S.-based trainers to test the waters in Europe. In 2004, his Hard Buck (Brz) (Spend a Buck) finished second in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. at Ascot. In 2017, he sent Daddy's Lil Darling to the G1 English Oaks, but she was scratched after bolting prior to the start.

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Smile Happy, Zandon Square Off in Risen Star

'TDN Rising Star' Smile Happy (Runhappy) and Zandon (Upstart), one a graded winner in their second trip to the races and the other unlucky not to achieve the same, meet for their respective sophomore debuts in Saturday's GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds. The Risen Star is the first of 16 races that comprise the 'Kentucky Derby Championship Series' and offers Kentucky Derby points on a 50-20-10-5 scale.

A $185,000 purchase out of the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, Smile Happy was the recipient of an inside-out ride from Brian Hernandez, Jr. going two turns at Keeneland Oct. 29 and powered away to graduate by 5 1/2 lengths. No better than the third favorite in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. a month later, the bay was once again consigned to a wide run around the bend, but he surged past recent GIII Sam F. Davis S. hero Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) and finished with good energy to take it by 3 1/4 lengths. The form of the Jockey Club has also been further franked by the third-placed White Abarrio (Race Day), who won the GIII Holy Bull S. with a 97 Beyer; and Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute), a wide seventh in the Jockey Club who upset this year's GIII Lecomte S.

“I think this is a good first step for Smile Happy,” said trainer Ken McPeek. “He's doing super. He's done everything right. He's a very low-maintenance horse who makes our job easy. We're trying to keep him and [GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner] Rattle N Roll (Connect) separated, with Rattle N Roll pointing for the [Mar. 5 GII Fasig-Tipton] Fountain of Youth[S.]”

Zandon brushed the inside of the stall, but overcame that bit of trouble to break his maiden by 1 1/2 lengths Oct. 9 at Belmont and was the 1.35-1 favorite for the GII Remsen S. Dec. 4. Three wide the trip, he was confronted by Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in upper stretch and had every reason to call it a day, but battled bravely inside and missed by just a nose after arguably being impeded by the eventual winner. He covered 46 more feet (about five lengths) in the process. The $170,000 Keeneland September acquisition ships in from South Florida, where he fired a bullet half-mile in :48 2/5 (1/41) Feb. 12 at Payson Park.

“He's got to get over the shipping, but the horse couldn't be training any better,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He's a very exciting prospect and I don't see any reason why he won't get up to a mile and quarter.”

Epicenter (Not This Time) set reasonable fractions in the Lecomte, but could not resist the center-track rally of Call Me Midnight and dropped a head decision. He was three-parts of a length clear of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Pappacap (Gun Runner), who was unable to take advantage of another ideal trip and settled for third.

Bodock (Street Boss) was a debut winner at Indiana Grand Nov. 10 and will try two turns off a 1 1/4-length defeat of $825,000 KEENOV purchase Strava (Into Mischief) in a sloppy six-furlong allowance Jan. 15.

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Smile Happy, White Abarrio Co-Individual Favorites In Third Kentucky Derby Future Wager

The third of five pools for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”) is set for its three-day stand Friday at noon with the pari-mutuel field of “All Other 3-Year-Olds” tabbed as the clear 5-2 morning line favorite while Lucky Seven Stable's undefeated Smile Happy along with C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's $250,000 Holy Bull (Grade 3) winner White Abarrio lead the individual choices at 8-1.

The third KDFW pool will run through Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Bettors can place win and exacta wagers at simulcast outlets throughout the country and online at TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs Incorporated.

Like in Pools 1 and 2, the KDFW pools assumes that horses under the care of trainers suspended from competing in the 2022 Kentucky Derby will not be under consideration. Those horses are included in the “All Other 3-Year-Olds” pari-mutuel field.

Smile Happy, the 3 ¼-length winner of the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade 2) in late November at Churchill Downs, is slated to make his 3-year-old debut in the $400,000 Risen Star (G2) on Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds, according to his trainer Kenny McPeek.

Smile Happy closed as the 8-1 individual favorite in Pools 1 and 2 of the KDFW in November and January.

White Abarrio closed at odds of 171-1 in Pool 2 but has since jumped into serious Derby contention following his emphatic 4 ½-length score in last Saturday's Holy Bull. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., White Abarrio is targeting the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) on Saturday, April 2 as his final prep prior to the Kentucky Derby, according to his connections

Here's the complete Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 3 field (with trainer and morning line odds): #1 Barber Road (John Ortiz, 20-1); #2 Call Me Midnight (Keith Desormeaux, 20-1); #3 Chasing Time (Steve Asmussen, 15-1); #4 Classic Causeway (Brian Lynch, 50-1); #5 Commandperformance (Todd Pletcher, 50-1); #6 Early Voting (Chad Brown, 12-1); #7 Emmanuel (Pletcher, 10-1); #8 Epicenter (Asmussen, 15-1); #9 Forbidden Kingdom (Richard Mandella, 10-1); #10 God of Love (Mark Casse, 50-1); #11 Happy Boy Rocket (Bill Mott, 50-1); #12 Howling Time (Dale Romans, 50-1); #13 In Due Time (Kelly Breen, 30-1); #14 Major General (Pletcher, 30-1); #15 Make It Big (Joseph, 50-1); #16 Mo Donegal (Pletcher, 30-1); #17 Pappacap (Casse, 15-1); #18 Rattle N Roll (McPeek, 30-1); #19 Simplification (Antonio Sano, 30-1); #20 Slow Down Andy (Doug O'Neill, 20-1); #21 Smile Happy (McPeek, 8-1); #22 White Abarrio (Joseph, 8-1); #23 Zandon (Brown, 30-1); and #24 “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (5-2).

There are eight new individual interests from Pool 2 in the KDFW. They are Southwest Stakes (G3) runner-up Barber Road; Lecomte (G3) winner Call Me Midnight; Withers (G3) winner Early Voting; San Vicente (G2) winner Forbidden Kingdom; Grey Stakes (G3) winner God of Love; maiden winner Happy Boy Rocket; Street Sense winner Howling Time; and fast first-level allowance winner In Due Time.

Combined handle for the first two KDFW pools was $687,657, up 20.4 percent from last year's $571,366.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wagers provide fans of Thoroughbred racing with opportunities to place bets on possible entrants in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) at odds that could be far greater and more attractive than those available on the day of the race. The 148th running of Kentucky Derby, America's greatest race and the first leg of the Triple Crown, is set for Saturday, May 7, 2022 at Churchill Downs.

There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the duration of this week's three-day pool that one of the wagering interests has experienced an injury, illness or other circumstance that would prevent the horse from participating in the Kentucky Derby, betting on the individual horse will be suspended immediately.

More information, Brisnet.com past performances and real-time odds on the Kentucky Derby Future Wager will be available before the pool opens Friday online at https://www.kentuckyderby.com/wager/future-wager.

The other Future Wager dates are March 11-13 (Pool 4) and March 31-April 2 (Pool 5). The lone Longines Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Pool 4 of the KDFW on March 11-13.

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