Hustling to make a morning airline flight from Kentucky back to his Southern California base, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith moved with purpose around Churchill Downs April 24.
His mount for the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1), So Happy, lacked the same sense of urgency.
Breezing the 3-year-old eight days ahead of the $5 million race, Smith needed to hand-urge the colt through a solo five furlongs in 1:00 1/5. So Happy galloped out six furlongs in 1:14 1/5, continuing the colt's familiar pattern of complacent training.
"He went like he always does," Smith said, smiling. "He does what he has to do, especially by himself."
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Reflective of these habits, So Happy's breezes were unspectacular ahead of his career debut last fall at Del Mar, a race in which he surprised connections and the betting public in scoring at first asking at odds of 38-1. Since then, he's won the Jan. 10 San Vicente Stakes (G2), finished third in the March 7 San Felipe Stakes (G2), and first in the April Santa Anita Derby (G1)—all at Santa Anita Park, where trainer Mark Glatt stables his horses.
The Norman Stables and Saints or Sinners-owned colt, who arrived at Churchill Downs April 21 after being flown from California, often leaves an average impression in the a.m., but shines when racing in the afternoons.
"He just knows the difference for some odd reason," Smith said. "I don't know. I wish I did, because it's interesting."
In the Santa Anita Derby, the colt stalked the pace before kicking away from the favored Bob Baffert-trained runner Potente to win by 2 3/4 lengths, completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.01. The effort answered questions about his ability to carry his speed around two turns as a son of champion sprinter Runhappy.
"It was brilliant," Smith said of the race, the colt's second start at a route, in which he ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.01. "It was better than I was expecting it, and what I was hoping for was certainly to win, to get the points, but for him to draw away like he did, it was good. He ran a good time. Good number. Beat some nice horses. Really good."
As the most experienced jockey in Derby history with 28 rides, few jockeys understand the qualifications needed from a winning horse better than Smith. He guided longshot Giacomo to victory in 2005 and returned to the winner's circle in 2018 aboard unbeaten favorite Justify , the sport's last Triple Crown winner. Alongside three-time Derby winner John Velazquez—who is riding Further Ado—Smith is one of only two jockeys in this year's race with multiple Derby victories.
A member of racing's Hall of Fame since 2003, Smith has amassed more than 5,800 career victories and over $357 million in purse earnings—and is remarkably still healthy and strong at age 59, when many of his counterparts have long since retired. If he were to win the Derby next Saturday, he would surpass Bill Shoemaker as the oldest jockey to win the historic race. Shoemaker was 54 when Ferdinand won in 1986.
"Why not? (Records) are made to be broken," he said. "It's a tough task, but I really like him a lot. If he runs to the ability that I know that he has, he should run really well."
