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Smile Happy on target for G1 Whitney; Rattle N Roll rerouted

by NYRA Press Office

• Smile Happy on target for G1 Whitney; Rattle N Roll rerouted
• G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf-winner Rebel’s Romance works for G2 Bowling Green
• Behind Enemy Lines breezes in company for G2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame
• Cowans secures elusive Saratoga win with Next
• Sunday’s Cross Country Pick 5 to feature racing from Monmouth Park, Saratoga Race Course and Woodbine Racetrack

Trainer Kenny McPeek confirmed Lucky Seven Stable’s graded stakes winner Smile Happy for next Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney at Saratoga Race Course, but his Grade 1-winning stablemate for the same owner Rattle N Roll will take his show on the road.

The nine-furlong Whitney offers a "Win and You're In" berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.

Both Rattle N Roll [2nd] and Smile Happy [5th] last raced in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Stephen Foster on July 1 at Ellis Park. McPeek said Rattle N Roll will target either the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga or the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Both races are run at 10 furlongs on September 2 and are “Win and You’re In” qualifiers for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Smile Happy, who captured the Grade 2 Alysheba on May 5 at Churchill Downs, got his first glimpse of the Oklahoma training track on Friday.

“He galloped really well this morning over the Oklahoma track,” McPeek said. “This was his first day here. We stood him in the gate, backed him out and gave him some gate schooling. He did well.”

Smile Happy last breezed on July 22 at Churchill Downs, completing a half-mile move in 49 seconds flat.

“We’ve had plenty of work into him at Churchill. He had a work days ago with a long, strong gallop and I don’t know that we’ll breeze him at all,” McPeek said.

Smile Happy earned a career-high 110 Beyer Speed Figure from his Alysheba conquest, defeating Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup winner Art Collector and next-out Grade 1 Stephen Foster winner West Will Power by two lengths. He kicked off his 4-year-old season on March 16 with an optional-claiming triumph over a sloppy and sealed Oaklawn Park main track in his first start since finishing eighth in last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. During his juvenile campaign, he captured the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs.

McPeek described the 4-year-old son of medication-free stallion Runhappy as a quirky horse that likes doing things his own way.

“He’s a bit of an alpha. He wants to run the show, but the talent is unquestioned,” McPeek said.

McPeek said Smile Happy will be ridden by jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr.

Smile Happy, bought for $185,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Select Sale, is out of the Pleasant Tap mare Pleasant Smile.

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G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf-winner Rebel’s Romance works for G2 Bowling Green

Godolphin’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Rebel’s Romance went a half-mile solo in 48.11 seconds over the Oklahoma training turf course on Friday, two days out from his start in the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green at Saratoga Race Course.

Under the watchful eye of trainer Charlie Appleby’s traveling assistant Chris Connett, Rebel’s Romance joined fellow Godolphin-owned Appleby trainees Silver Knott and Mysterious Night – both targeting the Grade 2, $500,000 Hall of Fame on August 5 – for a 10 a.m. visit to the training turf.

Rebel’s Romance, who enters from an uncharacteristic seventh in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March at Meydan Racecourse, has been tabbed the 8-5 morning line favorite in the 10-horse field and will leave from post 9 in rein to Richie Mullen.

“Rebel’s Romance had a nice canter and picked it up down the lane for just a little blowout for his run on Sunday,” Connett said. “He drew stall 9 which I don’t think is a worry for him. He’s a horse that likes to make a late run anyway, so Richie will jump him out and float him into position and hopefully he comes with a nice strong run towards the end.”

Rebel’s Romance, a 4-year-old Dubawi gelding, captured last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf in November at Keeneland, providing international racing and breeding powerhouse Godolphin with their fifth victory in the prestigious race.

A winner in four different countries, the Charlie Appleby-trained 5-year-old Dubawi gelding captured Germany’s Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten and Group 1 Preis von Europa at Cologne en route to his Breeders’ Cup conquest, where he came from 10th-of-13 to secure a 2 1/4-length victory over fellow European invader Stone Age.

Connett said he is hopeful that Rebel’s Romance can pursue a return engagement in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf on November 4 at Santa Anita. Godolphin has enjoyed previous success in the Turf with Daylami [1999], Fantastic Light [2000], Talismanic [2001], and Yibir [2021].

“Like so many Dubawis, he’s gotten bigger and stronger as he got older,” Connett said. “He had a frame to fill into and he’s certainly getting there. He’s a triple Group 1 winner, a Breeders’ Cup winner and hopefully that will be on the radar at the end of the season. But those decisions get left to Charlie.”

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Behind Enemy Lines breezes in company for G2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame

David A. Bernsen, Rockingham Ranch and Talla Racing’s graded stakes-placed Behind Enemy Lines worked a half-mile in 46.66 over the Oklahoma training turf Friday in company with older maiden winner What Say Thee [47.12] in preparation for next Friday’s Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.

The Jack Sisterson trainee was piloted through the breeze by Joel Rosario, who will have the call in the one-mile inner turf test for sophomores.

“He went great. He's a horse with a ton of speed and I told Joel to just sit behind his workmate and he did it so relaxed,” Sisterson said. “He finished up in hand and galloped out really strong, so we're over the moon with his work.”

The Sioux Nation colt, bred in Great Britain by The Brigadier Partnership, launched his career in Ireland with trainer Joseph O’Brien for owner Justin Casse. He won at second asking in January traveling six furlongs over the Dundalk synthetic.

Behind Enemy Lines breezed five times over the Palm Meadows turf in Boynton Beach, Florida, before making a winning debut for Sisterson in the 7 1/2-furlong Cutler Bay on April 1 over firm turf at Gulfstream Park.

“The good thing with Joseph and Justin Casse, who orchestrated the deal, we've a great relationship and they both know the types of horses that suit America - they need to have good minds and have speed and he has that and more. He impressed us from Day One down in Palm Meadows. Every breeze got better,” said Sisterson, who secured his first Grade 1 win with Vexatious in the 2020 edition of the Personal Ensign at Saratoga.

Behind Enemy Lines hopped at the break of the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 American Turf on May 6 at Churchill Downs, but closed to finish sixth defeated 4 1/4-lengths by the victorious Webslinger, who exited that event to win the Audubon at the Louisville oval.

Last out, Behind Enemy Lines took the lead at the stretch call of the Grade 2 Penn Mile on June 2, but was collared late and finished second, three-quarter lengths back of Major Dude, who had finished third in the aforementioned American Turf.

Sisterson said he had no issues with the trip engineered by Flavien Prat in the Penn Mile.

“I thought Flavien rode him perfectly. Did he hit the front too soon? I don't think so - we got beat by a better horse on the day,” Sisterson said. “He’s improving numbers wise and he is probably a miler. The American Turf was probably a little far for him - he hopped at the start, but he still ran his race and then flattened out a bit.”

Sisterson said Behind Enemy Lines is thriving at Saratoga where he has breezed back six times since his Penn Mile effort.

“He's the epitome of a racehorse. He does everything right and he just wants to get out there and train. He needs to be out there at 5:30, if not he kicks the barn down. He eats, he sleeps and wants to do it all over again,” said Sisterson, with a laugh.

Out of the Invincible Spirit mare Autumn Snow, Behind Enemy Lines hails from the extended family of the reigning Champion Male Turf Horse Modern Games.

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Cowans secures elusive Saratoga win with Next

Trainer William “Doug” Cowans was able to cross, ‘winning at Saratoga Race Course’ off his bucket list on Thursday when Michael Foster’s Next captured the storied racetrack’s $150,000 Birdstone in runaway fashion.

Cowans’ recent Spa endeavor was a redemptive one and came eight years after the veteran Kentucky-based conditioner saddled Next Shares to a tough runner-up finish in the Grade 2 With Anticipation in September 2015.

“Winning a race at Saratoga is a special thing and a guy like me doesn’t get that many opportunities to come up there,” Cowans said. “The first time I came up there, I was so close and it was a while before I got to come back up there. Yesterday felt really good when the horse won.

“It was more of a bucket list thing to win races all over the country and I haven’t run many at Saratoga,” Cowans added. “Either the horse isn’t right or you don’t have the right horse to get here. There are several situations that never line up. But it was always a bucket list to win a race at Saratoga, and not just run there.”

Next settled a close second behind pacesetting New York-bred stakes-winner Sea Foam before taking control nearing the far turn and strolling home a 11 3/4-length winner under jockey Luan Machado. He completed the 14 furlongs in a revised hand-timed 2:57.59.

Cowans admitted to being unsure how the pace scenario would play out.

“When I looked at the form, it looked like there was a lot of speed in the race for the distance. I knew it would be a bit of a task to get the horse to run a different style,” Cowans said.

Next’s runaway victory in the Birdstone only solidified himself as the leading dirt marathoner in North America. The 5-year-old Not This Time gelding won last year’s off-the-turf Cape Henlopen at Delaware Park en route to a prominent score in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at Keeneland. Following a third in his 2023 debut in the Isaac Murphy Marathon in May at Churchill Downs, Next rounded back into winning form in the Grade 2 Brooklyn on June 10 at Belmont Park. 

Cowans said Next could now target the 12-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Greenwood Cup on September 23 at Parx Racing, while eyeing a repeat conquest in the Grade 2, $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on November 4 at Santa Anita.

“[The Birdstone] was picked out for the horse since he won the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance,” Cowans said. “We mapped out a five-race plan for him after that race last year and the Birdstone was in that mix. He came out of the race great. If all goes well, we’ll go to Parx for the Greenwood Cup. Next on the bucket list is to win the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at Santa Anita. I’ve never run a horse at Santa Anita.”

Cowans reflected on what Thursday’s victory meant not only to him, but his hard-working staff.

“I think it means a lot as a whole for the stable and the whole group. A lot of my team has been with me for 20 plus years,” Cowans said. “We run at Keeneland and Churchill a lot and we don’t get too many opportunities like this. The team was super excited to come up there and the horse was doing so great that everyone was pumped up and it all worked out. It doesn’t always do that.”

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Sunday’s Cross Country Pick 5 to feature racing from Monmouth Park, Saratoga Race Course and Woodbine Racetrack

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Sunday featuring racing Monmouth Park, Saratoga Race Course and Woodbine Racetrack.

The Cross Country Pick 5 requires bettors to pick the winner of five select races from tracks across the country. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country with each week featuring a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5, boasting a low 15 percent takeout, offers sequences with races from Saratoga Race Course and partner tracks across the country.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Sunday, July 30

Leg A: Monmouth Park - Race 9, $100K Tyro (4:20 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Saratoga Race Course - Race 7, AOC (4:34 p.m.)

Leg C: Woodbine Racetrack - Race 8, AOC (4:54 p.m.)

Leg D: Saratoga Race Course – Race 9, G2 Bowling Green (5:44 p.m.)

Leg E: Saratoga Race Course – Race 10, MSW (6:18 p.m.)

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Belmont spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.