The race to the 2026 Kentucky Derby (G1) is on, and a handful of elite three-year-olds have made their sophomore year debuts. In the Jan. 10 San Vicente Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park, So Happy defeated favored Buetane by two lengths.
Unbeaten in two starts, So Happy was purchased by his eventual trainer, Mark Glatt, for $150,000 at the March 2025 Ocala Breeders’ Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. Bred by Leverett Miller (a scion of the Whitney horse racing dynasty), he now races for Norman Stables LLC and Saints or Sinners. The granddam of So Happy, a son of champion sprinter Runhappy, is a half-sister to 2007 Carter Handicap (G1) victor Silver Wagon, also a Miller-bred.
Margarita Girl Shines in Las Flores Stakes, Extending Saints or Sinners’ Santa Anita Success
On Jan. 11, also at Santa Anita, Saints or Sinners had another big win, as four fillies and mares aged four and up got their chance to hit the track in a graded stake. The six-furlong Las Flores Stakes (G3T) went to Margarita Girl; interestingly, the four-year-old’s sire, Twirling Candy, holds the stakes record in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes, won the day before by So Happy. Saints or Sinners co-owns Margarita Girl with Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners; she’s another Mark Glatt trainee.
Margarita Girl hails from the stellar family of Irish champion Glad Rags II, her sixth dam. Her granddam, Front Page Story, is a full sister to multiple group 1 winner Declaration of War (both by War Front); her fourth dam, Tempo, foaled 2011 Champagne Stakes (G1) and 2012 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Union Rags.
My World Dominates Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, Strengthening His Kentucky Derby Credentials
The historic Jerome Stakes took place on Jan. 3 at the soon-to-be-closed Aqueduct Racecourse. Winner of the Nashua Stakes last November at Belmont at The Big A, My World outclassed three other opponents in the Jerome. Owners Robert LaPenta and Madaket Stables LLC purchased the three-year-old son of Essential Quality for $350,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling sale. His dam is by leading sire (and burgeoning broodmare sire) Into Mischief, with his next two dams by standout stallions Distorted Humor (who died Jan. 10) and Rahy. My World’s extended female family includes 1983 champion sprinter Eillo, sprint specialist Gygistar, and 1996 Delta Air Lines Top Flight Handicap (G1) winner Flat Fleet Feet.
Commandment Romps at Gulfstream as Into Mischief Opens 2026 in Top Form
At Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3, Commandment set a positive tone for his sire, Into Mischief, this year. Into Mischief notched his seventh leading sire title in 2025, tying the immortal Bold Ruler for that record; his top runners last year include likely divisional champions Sovereignty and Ted Noffey. Commandment romped home first by 6 ¾ lengths. His dam, 2018 Spinaway Stakes (G1) winner Sippican Harbor, is a half-sister to three stakes winners.
Strategic Risk Breaks Through in Smarty Jones Stakes, Proving Class Beyond His Pedigree Price Tag
Bursting onto the sophomore scene was Florida-bred Strategic Risk. Strategic Risk registered his second consecutive stakes victory Jan. 3 at Oaklawn Park, taking the Smarty Jones stakes. Last time out, he annexed the FTBOA Florida Sire In Reality Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Blue-collar by breeding, the son of grade 1 winner Noble Bird (himself one of the best sons of Belmont Stakes [G1] victor Birdstone, perhaps the best representative of a lackluster branch of the Unbridled sire line). Noble Bird’s most recent stud fee in America was $3,000 before he was sold to Saudi Arabia. But his female family is excellent; his third dam is multiple grade 1-winning Educated Risk, a Phipps family homebred and half-sister to champion Inside Information.
