ARCADIA, Calif. – When the colt So Happy returned this week to Santa Anita after finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby, he joined two others in a rare slice of racetrack trivia.
The month of May might be the first month ever in which three Santa Anita Derby winners – So Happy, Journalism, and Stronghold – will train simultaneously over the same track.
It is uncertain if they will ever race against each other, though 4-year-old Journalism and 5-year-old Stronghold are candidates for the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 6 at Saratoga. Plans are pending for So Happy, according to trainer Mark Glatt.
“We’re just kind of in a re-group phase,” Glatt said Wednesday morning at Santa Anita. “We’ll see over the next week or so which direction we might want to go with him.”
So Happy lost the Kentucky Derby by more than seven lengths, but he finished in front of the five other California-based runners – Potente, Robusta, Intrepido, Litmus Test, and Pavlovian. None were as close to the pace as So Happy, a strategy that contributed to his defeat. So Happy pressed the pace, remained in the hunt turning for home, and backed up.
“You’re not going to win under those circumstances,” Glatt said, referring to the meltdown that compromised every Derby front-runner/pace-presser.
Glatt noted So Happy “broke sharp, and I think [jockey Mike Smith] wanted to keep him out of trouble, or potential trouble. Just too fast. Obviously if you could hit the redo button, Mike would have taken him back and just hoped that he’d have found a trip.”
So Happy came out of the Derby in good shape; upcoming options are open. He could shorten to a sprint or continue a two-turn campaign. Based on his Santa Anita Derby and creditable ninth in the Kentucky Derby, routes remain a viable option for the Runhappy colt. His first two starts were sprint wins, including the Grade 2 San Vicente at Santa Anita. So Happy is 3 for 5.
Journalism just started back, having finished third to White Abarrio and Sovereignty in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in his April 18 comeback. Journalism, who last year also won the Preakness and Haskell, is seeking his first victory against older. Facing older last year at Del Mar, he finished second in the Pacific Classic and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Trainer Michael McCarthy said the Met Mile is a potential target for Journalism, who worked a half-mile on May 2 at Santa Anita, two weeks after his comeback at Oaklawn.
“Journalism is good,” McCarthy said this week.
Journalism has won six races and $4,470,755 from 12 starts.
As for Stronghold, plans are pending. He shipped to Oaklawn Park soon after So Happy won the Santa Anita Derby. For a few days in April, Stronghold, Journalism, and So Happy were at Santa Anita. This month, all three will train regularly over the same track.
Stronghold’s dead-heat comeback victory April 17 in an allowance at Oaklawn sets him up for a big campaign. He earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure making his first start in nearly eight months for trainer Phil D’Amato.
“Everything’s under consideration, from traveling to staying at home,” D’Amato said Wednesday, two days after Stronghold worked an easy half-mile in 51.80 seconds.
D’Amato said Stronghold “shipped in well and breezed well.” D’Amato said he is a “couple weeks away from coming up with a game plan.”
Stronghold, who has won 4 of 14, could be nominated to the Met Mile.