My Happy Face wins by more than 21 lengths

My Happy Face had finished second to Teen Pauline in her debut (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

My
Happy Face might have come up second-best in her debut, but she gave her
connections reason to smile with a 21 1/4-length victory in Friday’s
1ST
race.

Owned by Michael Dubb and piloted by Ramon Dominguez, the Rudy Rodriguez
trainee was away like a shot to quickly assume a three-length lead. Nearing the
half-mile pole her four rivals began to edge closer, but she opened up again on
the turn and came into the stretch with a commanding lead, drawing away under no
encouragement from her jockey.

My Happy Face completed 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03 2/5, rewarded her backers with a $2.40 win payoff as the 1-5 favorite,
and promptly joined New York Watch.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work (at the gate) in the morning,” Rodriguez
said of
his charge, who finished 4 3/4 lengths behind fellow New York Watch member Teen
Pauline in that filly’s track record-setting debut on July 25.

“It looks like it
paid off. She’s acted up in the gate before, but she’s been behaving the last
couple of times we schooled her, so when she broke on top I said, ‘That’s it.'”