The legendary race horse Seabiscuit was named after his father, Hard Tack, whose own name was derived from the inexpensive crackers that sailors ate during long military campaigns.
The moniker for American Pharoah, the superlative thoroughbred vying to win the Triple Crown on June 6, came from a social media contest orchestrated by the owner’s son — though there’s been debate about the culprit behind the transposed “o” and “a.”
Evidenced by the stories behind the sport’s greatest champions, names for race horses can originate in any number of fascinating ways. So it’s only fitting that Colorado’s greatest race horse has his own intriguing back story.
In 2011, longtime owner Annette Bishop was at the Silver Cup horse sale at Arapahoe Park with trainer Kenneth “Butch” Gleason when a handsome thoroughbred caught Gleason’s attention.
“We were sitting in the back row of the auction, with everybody in front of us, and this horse came into the ring,” Bishop recalled. “They started bidding, and Butch gets all nervous. He says, ‘Who is bidding on this horse?’ I said, ‘Butch, why? Do you want this horse?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Then you better get happy, mister.’ That’s how he got his name.”
The horse was sold to Bishop that day for $46,000, and Get Happy Mister has spread plenty of joy since, galloping into more uncharted territory for a Colorado thoroughbred with each thundering stride.
Clearly, the name fits.
“He loves what he does,” said Bishop, a 76-year-old Colorado native who began purchasing race horses 15 years ago. “He’s sweet, and he’s an easy horse to be around.”
Get Happy Mister’s $384,928 in career earnings are tops for a Colorado-bred, and the 5-year-old gelding’s heart-pounding victory last month at the $100,000 San Simeon Stakes race at Santa Anita Park is believed to be the first graded stakes win for a Colorado-bred horse in talent-rich California.
As Arapahoe Park track announcer Jonathan Horowitz once bellowed during one of Get Happy Mister’s races last season, “he’s miles ahead of any horse in the Mile High City!”
“I’ve been riding for 28 years now, and this is the best horse I’ve ever rode,” said Mike Ziegler, the horse’s Colorado jockey.
Before he toppled high-level competition in California, Get Happy Mister swept up a cult following at Arapahoe Park. During his first racing season as a 2-year-old in 2012, he sprinted his way to victory in all four races he started.
After resting most of his 3-year-old year, the horse starred at the Aurora track again last season, winning all five of his races — all of varying distances — in dominating fashion. His coming-out party was the $100,000 Arapahoe Park Classic last August, a 1 -mile journey around the dirt track that offered a chance to cement a growing legacy.
“He had won his first four races at Arapahoe Park (in 2014), but those were against local competition,” Horowitz said. “(For the Classic), horses came from out of state, and good ones, to race him. And Get Happy Mister wasn’t favored to win.”
When the gates lifted, two of those out-of-state horses stormed to the front. Around the first turn, Get Happy Mister sat in third, 5 lengths behind the leaders.
“We wanted him to sit back,” Ziegler said. “As Butch told me, ‘You’d better save some horse for the end.’ “
There was plenty of horse left. In a flash, Get Happy Mister closed on the leaders. By the time he turned for the homestretch, it was time to celebrate his second perfect season on the Arapahoe track.
“Colorado can rejoice in its hometown hero!” Horowitz boomed to the crowd from his booth high above the track.
Bishop treats her horses well. A look inside her Lakewood home, adorned with pictures of her dozens of horses hanging on nearly every wall, provides a portrait of the love she has for them. She doesn’t push them into races just to collect purses.
“I take care of my horses and I give them time,” she said. “Whereas a lot of people don’t have the time, I do. … It’s not about the money.”
In April, eight months after the stirring Arapahoe Classic victory, a well-rested Get Happy Mister was at Santa Anita, training with Bishop’s son-in-law, Mark Tsagalakis, and preparing to race on turf for the first time. He was a 12-1 longshot by the time the race began. It didn’t matter.
Furiously kicking up grass in his path, Get Happy Mister stormed down the stretch to grab victory in his biggest race yet. It was an emotional moment for Bishop, who won her first graded stakes race while celebrating the achievement with her son-in-law.
“You couldn’t have asked to have a better horse or a better ride,” she said. “You have to give Mark a lot of credit. He was ready.”
Get Happy Mister will stay at Santa Anita this season. The original plan had been to bring the horse back here to race the Arapahoe Park circuit once again, but with new frontiers left to reach, Bishop’s horse will spend the summer getting happy in the California sun.
Nick Kosmider: 303-954-1516, nkosmider@denverpost.com or
Win, place, showtime
Get Happy Mister has had more success than any other horse from the state. A look at some of his highlights:
Seeing green: The $384,928 in career earnings are the most for a Colorado-bred thoroughbred.
King of the park: In two seasons racing at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Get Happy Mister has won all nine of the races he has started, including last year’s season- ending Arapahoe Classic.
California dreaming: Get Happy Mister won the grade III San Simeon Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., on April 19, the first graded stakes victory for a Colorado horse in California.
