Acting Happy takes Black-Eyed Susan in stakes bow

Last updated: 5/14/10 9:10 PM

Acting Happy outran her more experienced rivals in the Black-Eyed Susan
(Wendy Uzelac/EquiSport Photos)

Jay Em Ess Stable’s homebred ACTING HAPPY (Empire Maker) tracked the
pacesetter in second throughout Friday’s $175,000

Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2) at Pimlico, dueled with Tidal Pool (Yankee
Gentleman) in the stretch run and easily put that rival away while pulling off
for the 1 1/2-length victory. Sent off the 10-1 sixth pick in the nine-filly
field, Acting Happy paid $22.20, $10.80 and $5.80 for taking her stakes bow
under jockey Jose Lezcano.

Khancord Kid (Lemon Drop Kid) took command of the race when the gates opened,
with Acting Happy settled just to her outside, Tidal Pool flanking the eventual
winner a little farther out and Harissa (Afleet Alex) settled down toward the
inside through early fractions of :23 3/5 and :47 2/5.

What was a pretty uneventful race to this point was livened up in a hurry
when Diva Delite (Repent) suddenly clipped heels with C C’s Pal (Alex’s Pal)
when that one came out. Diva Delite went head over heels, sending jockey Julien
Leparoux tumbling to the track hard. Seeking the Title (Seeking the Gold) was
just to the inside of the incident and tripped when Diva Delite fell lengthwise
in front of her. Jockey Kent Desormeaux, aboard Seeking the Title, found himself
halfway out of the saddle and chose a controlled jump to the track, rolling
under the rail, before being unseated.

Desormeaux escaped injury while Leparoux received medical attention
on the track before he was taken to nearby Sinai Hospital for further
examination. Leparoux’s friend Fanny Salmon, a television producer
working for HRTV, spoke with him after he returned to the jockey
quarters, took possession of his belongings and was driving to the
hospital.

“He broke a tooth and he’s experiencing some chest pains,” Salmon
said. “He has a bruise and they want to take X-rays to know exactly what
is wrong with him.”

Leparoux, the 2009 Eclipse Award-winning jockey, is scheduled to ride
Pleasant Prince (Indy King) in Saturday’s Preakness S. (G1). Desormeaux
has the mount aboard Paddy O’Prado (El Prado [Ire]), the third-place
finisher in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

“I’m fine,” Desormeaux said. “I just feel bad for the team that came all this
way to win the Black-Eyed Susan. I didn’t even have the opportunity to release
the lines on my horse to see if I had any horse. I escaped from injury, but I
fear for Julien. I don’t think he’s going to be so lucky, because he’s in a lot
of pain right now.”

Both Seeking the Title and Diva Delite appeared to escape injury other than a
few scrapes.

“She looks OK,” trainer Dallas Stewart said of Seeking the Title. “She wasn’t
limping or anything.”

“She looked fine,” said Diva Delite’s trainer, Ian Wilkes. “She had a couple
of little nicks, but we’ll see. She’s covered in dirt. She went completely
down.”

Khancord Kid had sped through six furlongs in 1:11 2/5 while all this was
going on, but couldn’t sustain her momentum and began backing up. Calvin Borel
sent Tidal Pool on the outside and Acting Happy kept pace, just getting her head
down through the mile split in 1:36 3/5. Acting Happy soon after put Tidal Pool
away and was always holding a closing No Such Word (Canadian Frontier) to finish up the 1 1/8-mile test on the fast dirt in 1:50.

No Such Word, the 8-1 fifth choice, was worth $9 and $5.60 while completing
the $166.80 exacta. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to Tidal Pool, who
returned $2.60 as the 2-1 favorite and completed the $640.20 trifecta. Harissa
was easily best of the rest in fourth, six lengths up on Khancord Kid, and ended
the 4-1-6-5 superfecta that totaled $3,064.40.

C C’s Pal came next under the line with Patriot Miss (Quiet American)
rounding out the field after running last throughout.

Acting Happy has a bright future with just four starts under her girth
(Debra Kral/Horsephotos.com)

Acting Happy was making just her fourth career start for trainer Richard
Dutrow in this spot. The dark bay lass broke her maiden in her career debut by 1
3/4 lengths on January 24 at Gulfstream Park, then posted a pair of second-place
runs against allowance rivals in February and March. Not seen in competition
since the latter of those races, the sophomore filly improved her record to
4-2-2-0 with this one and boosted her earnings to $141,540.

“The reason why I picked this spot is the longer the distance the
better for her,” Dutrow said. “And she’s two-turns also. I didn’t want
to mess around with any one-turns with her. I’ve always liked this
horse. As you can see, I ran her a mile and eighth her first start.
She’s probably the best filly I’ve ever had. I just can’t wait to see
more of her.

“I’m going to target the (August 21) Alabama ([G1] at Saratoga),” he
added. “I don’t care if I don’t run her back until then. I’m not saying
that’s what we’ll do, but we will target that race and we’ll just kind
of float and glide along as we go.”

Bred in Kentucky by owners Samantha and Mace Siegel, Acting Happy is out of I
Ain’t Bluffing (Pine Bluff), who has since produced a juvenile colt named He
Ain’t Bluffing (Songandaprayer) and an unnamed yearling colt by Posse. Acting
Happy is also a half-sister to I Ain’t P T (A.P. Indy), who is the dam of this
year’s Commonwealth S. (G2) hero Together Indy (Not for Love).

I Ain’t Bluffing was a top class runner on the track, capturing the 1997
editions of the La Brea S. (G1) and Railbird S. (G2) as well as the 1998
runnings of the Milady H. (G1) and Hawthorne H. (G2), and is herself a daughter
of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Cup of Honey (Raise a Cup). Among her
half-siblings are Canadian champion two-year-old male Truth of It All (Proud
Truth) and the unraced Sweet as Honey (Strike the Gold), who would go on in the
breeding shed to foal 2005 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and Pacific Classic (G1)
king Borrego (El Prado [Ire]).

Acting Happy’s fourth dam is 1962 champion two-year-old filly Smart Deb
(Dedicate).