Runhappy: The Documentary

he was the last horse I was never gonna own I lost so much money in the business and there came this miracle horse named run happy it was a champion [Music] first time I laid my eyes on it I said Wow they're supposed to look like the real deal if you could build perfect racehorse he is the perfect race horse that wasn't going to get off the romani how are we so lucky beeping it to be around this horse never ran once on lasix hey oats and water that's why we do it he was the only horse that was actually nominated for three different awards so that alone was a milestone accepting the Eclipse Award for champion metal splinters on happy is his over James mcinvale thank you Ron happy for all you do you've truly touched and changed our lives [Music] [Applause] [Music] he was an exceptional first full you know sometimes you can get first foals that are a little light or a little small being the mayor's first pregnancy and he was the complete opposite he was a he was a beast from day one to say that we knew how good he was and how fast he was would be an exaggeration but we knew he was a really athletic very good-sized first first foal which is you got to be really excited as a as a breeder he just had this presence about him just call it class if you will but he just he just stood out and almost has this little cocky stature about him that says I'm the man we considered the November sale that we thought he was a little immature after he was weaned and so we've refocused on the September sale [Music] I'm just not good at that Maya my assistant all our ruler is and she went to the sale and pick several horses that Keeneland September sale and what she really liked was run happy I went and looked at him and he just had a real nice walk to him just was very very well balanced really well put together and he just had a really great mind I always when I went to the self I had a horse I really liked I'd always want Cornell's opinion cuz let's face it he's filled how many great yearlings and themselves so I'd had him go and look at him and he really liked the way he looked first time I laid my eyes on him but even I said wow this looked like the real deal our veterinarian James slaughter we always have him go and look at all our horses and he said look this horse has kind of a little issue on his right says boy behind and he said and it looks like it's healed nicely you don't think it's gonna bother me cos II know it's kind of 50/50 it's either going to or not and I said you if you like him physically and and you scope him and you think he scopes good then I'll take a chance at it he was just such an exceptional Colt we had people telling us he was the best looking horse in the sale he was about the most beautiful fluid Walker you'll you'll ever see we had bought an arch Colt the first part of the sale that I really didn't like a whole lot I thought he wasn't gonna last and Mac had paid two hundred thousand forms so you know I said well I really like this horse and he's in my pick of the sale so since we spent 200 on that article I think we should go ahead and go up to 200 she told me two hundred thousand I said were you liking that much just go for it I a dime I end to me more liberal on spending money this year she's very parsimonious hit reverse 1630 AB a Colt by the Kentucky Derby what her super safer when he was gonna go in the ring I was helping Cornell would hold him and he was when you watch the video Kordell kept looking at me I was like looking at me you know because he knew I wanted to buy him and he wanted me to buy him yeah but you been back there tutor Abbot Heribert anyone could go or 200 to 210 210 I have a PC 200,000 frankly we were really really disappointed with him only bringing two hundred thousand dollars which sounds crazy if you paid five thousand for the mayor and bred to a stallion for twenty thousand roll the dice and the dice turned up really good I think he arrived October 14th of I memorized some around there he didn't know how to go from the gate pushing he always had that Derby curse okay but if he didn't run it to you you couldn't win the Derby so Mac was like well he's gotta run it thinking is let him run he's racehorse lady run loose cannon broke sharply worth the gamble he raised opens and he's not even a screen he's dead last I'm thinking oh here comes no point so we'll just give him the second he's he's pretty quick here all of a sudden in the film here comes his little nose and I go there he is right there coming up the rail and of course he just came flying up the rail around the turning back was like my god you know how fast is the source here comes run I'm happy moving through from the inside run happy just moved right by and then of course he went like the half and 45 and Mike Battaglia skal is so funny because he feels like laughs that one forty-five seconds flat missed the top of the stretch beers way out almost to the branch stands and runs zigzag down the stretch it's run happy running erratically through this stretch he just saw the lights in the stands and he kind of got startled and he was switching his legs back and forth and he's you know getting out in the stretch and I think the jockey was half freaking out over how crazy was being run happy impressive in his debut we laughed and thought maybe this horse can really run hi folks this is mattress Mac Gallery Furniture really well hey you years ago I used to have a girl used to work for me at Gallery in the service department and I think she summed up Mac the best when one day she said you know Laura Mac's got a fist of iron a mind of still and a heart of gold and that's how Mac is function I lost everything he furnished my apartment even a job gave me a career I think our life motto is just the essence of living is giving so we try to do everything in our life to really give back to somebody else hurricane Harvey came in on Friday night Saturday morning that Houston there was no water in my house but in the street in front of my house there was three or four foot of waters got on the freeway to go to the main gallery furniture stores I went over the first overpass the cars are coming the wrong way on the freeway and that's when you know that the stuff is hit the fans hi Jim mcinvale here at Gallery Furniture well my all the residents have been affected by this horrible hurricane but know that all of us gallery for the praying for you my father did a facebook live because in our minds that was the best way to let the people of Houston know hey if you need anything call us we will do everything in our power to save you guys to rescue whatever we can do we told the people that both stores be home for the children for the storm for people and pets seconds later it felt like you had people calling from everywhere and the store phones were already just completely ringing off the hook like hey Matt can you come rescue us the minute it happened Mac sprung into action like Simon Sands is mind blowing quick he jumped into action to help everybody within about 24 hours - probably had 600 people at gallery staying there at the main store 145 he got trucks to go around through the water to pick up any pot in the year he was just on the ball from day one we thought about helping people in this what we're supposed to do and that's what my wife has dedicated her life to and myself and hopefully my children and grandchildren [Music] it takes an entire community to raise a child and it takes an entire group of people to uh to help these racehorses and these horses are very dependent on it and Kordell is a master groom he's a master Horseman there's nobody that knows what wears better than their groom and their with them more than anything theirs they're checking their legs every day even though the trainers as well they're there making sure they you know are getting cooled out properly they're the ones walking I'm they're the ones handling them they know everything about him and Kordell truly is so in sync with run-happy it's incredible Kordell was absolutely the best person on earth to be at the end of it shank and in the stall was a horse we all knew that but the paperwork part of it you know keeping track of all the Coggins and setting up the vani and all that kind of stuff was just pretty overwhelming to him so I needed an assistant because I couldn't be here all the time and so I've never been a public trainer I could care less about you know my name being out there lights or being you know the trainer record so I had hired Marissa as an assistant and I didn't have any problem with her letting all the horses run in her name because she wanted to get some recognition [Music] when we brought him back in April to run we knew we really needed to really get his mind straight to where he knew how to run and be a little more professional and that's one of the reasons that we decided that we for sure wanted to run him through his allowance conditions you know that before we put him into another race let him go get some experience so we ran him at Indiana Ranma Delos and we kept saying well if he wins this race we'll run him here and if we're ends at Ellis then we'll think about the king bishop so Maria knew Edgar from New York and she was the one that said I think that Edgar will be a good person I think that he'll have confidence in a horse that is running with us because let's face it I mean you know Maria didn't have much of a race record I didn't have much of a race record I called his agent mob class heiress and said hey why don't you come in town and breezes horse and see what you think I water the horse and I come back you know wasn't even breathing hard and I remember you know via Barbara wasn't wrong and I wouldn't had breakfast with Edgar and said you know do you think he fits the king bishop and he said you know I'd give it's I think he should run up there it's Saratoga you don't get in my mind a more storied sports venue in the United States for sure but it for sure and racing when he came to the paddock it's just whole demeanor was that I'm here to go out there and win this race and we knew he had talent but you don't know how much talent they have until they run against the big dogs [Music] I'm going there to win and that's it I'm not looking for no second place or running behind I looked up and saw that he had gone on 120 and for I thought oh my god I think he's sent this steak record today I was very impressed because the horse he did it the fashioned way you know cooking the pressure from the beginning and it keeps going and like I say come back and it was Emily were to win the kings fish up in States record time almost track record time it feels surreal it really does right after we won Matt called me and I mean he was just a static we made it to the big time in the game and more importantly we did it our way no lasix no Bute no injections he owed water and this incredible horse just ran out free I had several calls from brilliant people I respect in the horse business saying you got a heck of a horse here we kept digging and digging and digging and we found the light at the end zone [Music] the Phoenix was a super cool day being at Keeneland was so much fun to be home you felt like we're on a home turf and our favorite is the one run happy not bad for a horse who was a upset winner of the grade one King's Bishop last about then the track came at sloppy and even though he had won on a muddy track in Indiana even a couple times in the post Brady was kind of stumbling and I thought oh man he doesn't like this surface we all watch down on the rail outside we didn't care about the rain my Ford I was so nervous he's gonna need to go back upstairs I can't watch from down here they're all Phoenix I thought man we're gonna have to send this one from the one hole because I knew that they would purposely try to trap them on the rail rut and happy now kicks in the flashes his speed and there goes our unhappy from fourth up the rail to take the late he will give you the snow nothing normally do and I send them out of there to get a new boss issue and the saddest little I saw that saddle starts just something I was thinking my god this saddle looks like it's getting ready to come off when the Sun is nipping on lot of things go through your minds and you don't know how far it's going to go not only you've started feeling that you both father them back and pilot right front running style here for the three-year-old run tripping out a deep stretch but he's got it good horses have to overcome obstacles they had to break from the one hole then he had a track he didn't like he was losing his saddle and he's still won impressively that's the kind of race that makes you say he's great horse a very exciting race and another another great step in the maturation what happened [Music] Breeders Cup week was a whirlwind he won four races in a row and he was fasting yeah there was a lot a great competition everybody was just giving us all sorts of crap about house there was no way that we were gonna win because he's a three-year-old we couldn't breathe beat private zone we felt super comfortable at that time going into the Breeders Cup not that we were going to win but that we were going to be prepared a week before he won the Breeders Cup I work in three quarters it was in 109 the minute I can I do forgot the day everybody was talking about crazy we were back we go back and look at the video I mean Omar's looking at his watch the first part and then he's grabbing a hold of him because he was going so fast he was like all businesses that the track 20 site too long everybody was going on and on about how we let him go too fast and Omar said heck I couldn't let him go 107 if I'd wanted I was able to let all those forces go by and see cryoxide and wrong happy he was happy right there 5 it so he's dead even whatever now he takes over and run happiest one thing outside of them when we were on the turn I started a smile my heart in a little closer and he respond but those courses in from wasn't stopping either by the time private insomnia the wire was [Applause] everybody after that race all they talked about was how it was a different dimension to be able to see him come off the pace I can't remember a better feeling in racing or any work that I've done than when that horse crossed the finish line at Keeneland it was just a combination of the fact that the work they had put into this horse and the horse himself and proved that their training methods worked they deserved all the accolades and all the glory I think that for all of us that were around him like even Kordell I mean it's a I don't think we can ever experience that again then the next morning Maria Burrell wanted to do some things that were contrary to the culture we're big on culture you know this is how we do things we don't very the problem was is that it got to a point where she just honestly wasn't a real team player Maria Burrell who had just age 31 won the Breeders Cup sprint with a barn of just three horses was fired as the trainer of run happy we took a tremendous amount of heat from the racing media and from fans saying why did you fire this woman there's a truth there's hearsay and then there's false I think unfortunately what the racing world heard was the hearsay and hearsay unfortunately in our case was very far from the truth next thing I know I've got Jerry Balin in California calling me saying do you want to give me a comment on his tweet out there Maria talk now he's lame I want to taint the track and I said well that's not true every other day on Twitter you didn't want to go on because it was 15 things about how terrible we all are he made it sound like we weren't paint her you know but she was paid a salary and she was given bonuses and she made quite a bit of money here sometimes you got to do what's right you gotta take the heat for it and we knew what the extenuating circumstance wasn't eventually it all kind of came out that Maria had some problems and wish you the best I hope for people in racing they realized that at the end of the day our gala racing team would never do anything that wasn't completely for the benefit of our animals we decided very early on what we were going to do as when it comes to moving on and having more train him it doesn't matter what anybody says it doesn't matter what people are saying out there doesn't matter whether they're telling the truth or they're telling lies I still walk through this door every morning and and see that horse standing there and he's still yours you know at the end of the day's don't you [Applause] [Music] the Malibu was erased it my dad's always wanted to win it's it's an Anita opening day Malibu it's such a big race such a storied race there was tremendous pressure on Laura the trainer to perform in the Malibu otherwise they say the horse can't Roman that yes these guys are a bunch of jerks blah blah blah at the time I didn't realize a lot of people had told me but there's no way he's gonna win you should be running him back he's had such a hard campaign and here I was thinking I really think this horse is sounder and doing better than he has been for the past four months we get out to California and everybody's amazing Stan I need there's so much fun we saw Bob one morning who is still such a good friend of our families and it's always been so great and sweet to us and he said I mean this horse could run with three legs and he's gonna win this race we had gone to dinner at some little restaurant I saw a text from Robert CLIs heiress who was Edgar's agent and he's like you know Edgar had a bad spill today Lauren I mean he's hurt pretty bad legs like Betty unseated Edgar Prado and is on the other side of the turf course I fell off and golden part in a broke mine six ribs and that's why I miss the riot won't happen in Malibu my agent had been in touch with and he knew that they were coming out here for the Malibu and you know it was pretty simple math of he's doing quite well at the time and they had asked if if I would be interested and obviously I was very interested I called a garena 30 Gary and give you some tips and it was pretty easy me and only what it had to be helped amount to break gotta be game the rest of you will do everything myself they're off it was a very clean beginning and run-happy is sent right to the front he said make sure you jump out him at first you know get his mind on running and then just put him on cruise control and he said when you asked him coming into the stretch I feel just give you what you need when we hit the eighth Pole and I did call on him he gave me the right answer and exploded and he one was with great ease [Applause] domina Factory with a very stressful race for all of us but even out there just did his thing and it was a great day for running happy being a great day for for a Laura wheeler and my daughter Laura vindicating all the heat they'd have after the Maria Burrell problem I was walking to the Catholic Church which right across the street from San Anita some vans and well maybe that son of a can pay her now I thought that was great [Music] [Applause] [Music] I remember as a kid my dad came home one night and said hey I want to watch this movie with you and that wasn't like it was this weird thing that that never happened but my father definitely definitely worked until 10:00 11:00 p.m. at night her and I used to watch the secretary video all the time we must have brought thousands of times she hasn't memorized after the Kings bishop oddly enough there was a long horn football game and we played Notre Dame the Seth and Walker were both at the game as guests of Charlie and we saw them on the sidelines and we said you know hey do you guys need a ride back on our plane and you guys can kind of hop on with us I remember we got on the airplane and my dad was so excited to get to talk to Seth about just hey what what do we do from now on we had won the King's Bishop and how incredible that was and Seth said you know that's such a stallion making race we'd really love you guys to come out to the farm and just see what you think we'd like to take a look at seeing if we could stand run-happy here and to us on you're thinking like this is the greatest day of my life this is the greatest day of my life we go to secretary install and it's empty at the time they've kept it empty I don't know for how many years I believe it's close to 15 or 20 or so because they do so many tours and it's such a story install and it was just to us to even get to see it to touch his nameplate that was just kind of it was incredible bad built that barn and I can't remember when it was finished but it would be it would have been in the 60s maybe late 50s and beau ruler went right in that stall so he set a pretty high mark Secretariat went in there of course that was a natural place for him to go to take his dad's spot and we've always tried to put a champion in there something that we feel I could really have an impact on the game that stalls been the most probably one of the most famous stalls in central Kentucky I remember after that Bernie and there stallion manager called sent me a text early and said you know hey I'll let you know that we are very interested in standing run-happy here as you guys know I wanna let you know if you please tell your dad that if he comes here he gets stalled won and I took the screenshot and I sent it to my dad he said it was nice having the attention and talking to all these great farms legendary farms there in Kentucky talking to the Japanese and other people but at the end when Bernie Sam said he could have installed one in flavor and whereas Secretariat and Bold Ruler and easygoing and all those great horses were that was no contest I think if we told we're gonna put him good for prospector stall he might have been so Murray he's I'm very sought-after stallion everyone was bidding on him to hopefully secure moszer's for their starting rosters so it was definitely a big feather in our caps and we were very excited and relieved also at the same time to finally get them to the farm and and get them and that's number one stall here claybournes a wonderful place we're very traditional people you know and Claiborne is a very traditional farm they do things old-school and we're pretty much like that ourselves and our training and everything else sometimes I think it's rare for a person like mr. mcinvale with a wonderful horse to send it to Clayburn because we don't shuttle our horses they don't go to the southern hemisphere they stay here all year round and we limit their books as well as we can we're proud to have one happy flavoring which is a place that's kind of all school they don't breed 200 mares here about a 130 or something they do it right they do it the old-school way in their number one introduced the horse and that's what we were most concerned about was the caravan happy we still feel like he's ours we still go and see him and I think it would have been really hard on us all had he left the barn and we can never go see them and and we you know I can pick up the phone and say I'm coming to see run-happy tomorrow and they're like fine come on you're trying to do the best thing for the horses and a lot of times people when they have a good horse that is their income to run their whole stable with in mr. mcinvale I think has been more than agreeable to the clavering away every step of the way for him to be able to be in that stall at that farm with those people we couldn't have written it better I know the criteria my grandfather always used was they had to win it two years old be 603 that's certainly what he was and this horse ran the old-fashioned way he ran drug-free and and he was brilliant as fast as he was and to have no no medication to help him says a lot from day to day not just in the races but his day to day training says a lot for what he can pass on to his offspring I think the fact that he ran 100% medication free is a huge huge positive for him because you don't really get that in this country and it's kind of a special aspect that he brings to the stallion market you know he kind of bucked the trend and he's proven that American horses don't need the medication that they often get train him hard hangouts and water no drugs no injections no lasix no Butte that's why we do it he adds a lot of speed and yetiz I have a broken vow mayor so they ought to be able to get the distance he's a good-looking horse I just I think he's a specialist I think he's also spinless gonna show what he's capable doing his race record just speaks for itself and everyone saw his brilliance on the track he's fast got confirmation physical physically attractive to breeders and he's got pedigree tell me he's the full package if he passes on his confirmation and his feet in his in his respiratory system I know he's gonna throw some great babies if you could build the perfect racehorse he is the perfect racehorse he's a perfect shape sighing I mean if you wanted to show someone an ideal shaped horse I think you'd show him run happy he's got a great athletic body he's got such a good mind he really does smart horse me running represents all this good with horse racing and hopefully he will he will change the breed in the future because he's such a great racers

Channel: TVG Network

Views: 430,431

Rating: 4.7585235 out of 5

Keywords: Runhappy, Laura Wohlers, Claiborne Farm, TVG, Jim McKingvale, Mattress Mack, Keeneland November Sale

Id: yBkSmA4N-ec

Length: 27min 32sec (1652 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 10 2018