RUN HAPPY MAKES BRIGHT START TO STUD CAREER

Ian Fortune

Those paying attention may have noticed a couple of impressive winners by Run Happy in recent weeks and he has now moved to Sean and Ann Bourke at the Newpark Stud.

The hugely talented son of Tullymurry Act and Marlfield Taylor has served very few bitches in his short stud career but the early signs would suggest he could be a sire to keep an eye on.

His most recent winner came in the form of the promising Bogger Lucky. The youngster has won three of his five career starts to date, posting a rapid 28.82 (rated .20 slow) at Kilkenny last Friday evening to alert potential buyers.

From limited numbers it’s impressive to produce such a promising youngster, alerting breeders to his potential as a sire.

Of course, Run Happy was a star on the track, albeit during a relatively short career. Trained by Pat Buckley, he ran up the 2019 Champion Stakes, only picked up in the closing yards by Ballymac Arminta, while two months later he went even closer to Derby glory. Setting a blistering pace, he was collared under the shadow of the post to finish a neck and head third behind Lenson Bocko.

Sadly, he had just a handful of races in the subsequent months but still managed to reach the final of the 2020 Gold Cup at Shelbourne Park. Blessed with top class early speed and pace down the back straight, he is certainly an option for breeders looking to inject a bit of early speed into their produce.