There
is no doubt in my mind that a Hollywood movie will be made about a
winner of a Breeders' Cup race Saturday at Keeneland. The script is
writing itself as we speak.
The horse I'm talking about is not
American Pharoah. It is Runhappy. He won the Breeders' Cup Sprint in
track record time and is the likely champion sprinter.
Space
prevents me from going through a full timeline of the horse. But believe
me, Runhappy is a heartwarming success despite all of the human drama.
The
script will have larger-than-life characters. The eccentric owner, Jim
McIngvale. The jealous racing manager, Laura Wohlers. And the heroine
would be the trainer, 32-year-old Maria Borell.
The soap opera
began the morning after winning the Sprint. Wohlers told Borell to send
Runhappy to the track to gallop and get lactic acid out of the horse's
system.
Lactic acid? In a Scientific American report, "contrary to
popular opinion, lactic acid buildup is not responsible for muscle
soreness felt in the days following strenuous exercise." It said the
body "clears the lactate" on its own with a few days of rest.
Borell wrote on her Facebook page that there was some heat in an ankle, too. When she refused, Wohlers fired her.
Now
I don't know if Borell is a great trainer, or even a good one. But what
she did with Runhappy, winning all five starts for her, including the
Grade 1 King's Bishop, Grade 3 Phoenix and the Grade 1 Sprint, is the
stuff of fairy tales.
The Grade 1 wins were the first ever for McIngvale in 20 years of owning racehorses. You would think he'd be over the moon.
Borell
has asked to be paid 10 percent of the winner's purses, which is the
industry norm. Wohlers and McIngvale have refused, claiming she was a
private trainer and would be paid a smaller "agreed upon" amount.
McIngvale
has a poor history with trainers. According to a Blood-Horse story, he
has hired and fired 33 trainers in 20 years. If the count is wrong, it
is because it may be higher.
Wohlers will resume training of
Runhappy. She was the trainer in the horse's first two starts, a maiden
win at Turfway Park and a ninth-place finish in the LeComte at the Fair
Grounds.
Highly respected clocker Bruno de Julio, on his Twitter
account, wrote that Runhappy was "entered and ran with a fractured
tibia" in the LeComte. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
We
should be proud of Runhappy for another reason. The horse won all five
races without Lasix. He is a poster boy for a sport trying to rid itself
of race-day drugs.
Borell has now retained legal counsel.
McIngvale
should settle this out of court, and fast. It would make good business
sense and cut his losses in the court of public opinion. Since there was
no signed contract, any lawyer will point to the industry standard, 10
percent, as a normal rate.
And if Borell wins, she could see a
judge's ruling for triple damages plus all of her legal fees. Runhappy
still has my vote for an Eclipse Award. He has earned it. It would lead
to an incredibly awkward acceptance speech by McIngvale and Wohlers.
This before a live audience of the finest people involved in the horse
racing industry.