Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Happy Like a Fool eyes La Brea
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Happy Like a Fool, who chased a hot pace in the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint before fading to sixth at 61-1, could return in the Grade 1 La Brea on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, trainer Wesley Ward said. The seven-furlong La Brea is restricted to 3-year-old fillies.
Winner of the Grade 3 Matron last year at 2 and the Grade 3 Miss Preakness in May, Happy Like a Fool went through the Fasig-Tipton November sale the day after the Breeders’ Cup. She was auctioned for $1.45 million, with Blandford Bloodstock listed as the buyer of record.
According to Ward, Happy Like a Fool is now fully owned by Coolmore Stud. Through the Breeders’ Cup, she had raced for Merribelle Stables and the Coolmore principals of Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and John Magnier.
Ward does not intend to race any of his four other Breeders’ Cup competitors over the rest of the year. Kirby’s Penny, 13th in the Filly and Mare Sprint, was sold for $525,000 at Keeneland this past week, and his trio of Juvenile Turf Sprint starters – Chelsea Cloisters (second), Stillwater Cove (10th), and Moonlight Romance (12th) – are being pointed to 2019 campaigns.
“They’re going to get about 60 days” off, he said.
Cox has two for River City
Brad Cox is starting to regain momentum after hitting what might be regarded as a slump during the first half of the Churchill fall meet.
With the only winner from his first 26 starters at the 21-day meet being Monomoy Girl in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff – which, by itself, does indeed contradict any notion of “slump” – Cox won a Friday allowance with the promising 2-year-old filly Unholy Alliance, then swept the Sunday co-features when Maybe Wicked and Take These Chains won back-to-back allowances.
Cox appears to hold the strongest hand for the lone stakes to be run here this weekend, the 41st River City Handicap on Saturday. Cox intends to run Mr. Misunderstood and Big Changes in the Grade 3, $100,000 River City, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for which entries were to be drawn Wednesday.
Other older horses likely for the River City include Flatlined, Team Colors, and probably two or three of the seven nominees from the barn of Mike Maker.
The fall stakes schedule ends with six graded races during Thanksgiving week. Closing day is Nov. 25.
Hog Creek Hustle to KJC
The Nov. 24 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is a possible next start for Hog Creek Hustle, who earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure in going last to first in winning a seven-furlong allowance Saturday for trainer Vickie Foley. If the Kentucky Jockey Club comes back too quick, the Overanalyze colt then will hit the Fair Grounds trail to the Louisiana Derby.
Hog Creek Hustle, now a winner in 2 of 3 starts, was named for the hometown of Patty Tipton, who helped organize the Something Special Racing partnership that includes six other members, “all friends and family,” she said. “We’ve already had some pretty big offers, but we’re planning on having a lot of fun with this colt. You can’t put a price on fun.”
Hog Creek, located in Montgomery County, Ky., is so small it wasn’t even included in the latest U.S. census.
“It’s just a little place at the top of a holler,” Tipton said.
Well-matched Thursday feature
Two allowances anchor a 10-race Thursday card at Churchill, with the nominal feature being an $89,500 turf mile (race 3) that drew six fillies and mares.
Party Boat, a last-out winner over the Woodbine turf for Graham Motion, is a 2-1 morning-line favorite, but Streamline, Hachi, and Bonnie Arch also figure to take plenty of action in a competitive spot.
The other allowance (race 9) also is for fillies and mares on turf, with an oversubscribed field set to go 5 1/2 furlongs for an $82,000 purse. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.