Melbourne, September 20 – Quality galloper Happy Trials showed he was getting back to his best with a fine second in the Group I MRC Underwood Stakes over 1800 metres at Caulfield on Saturday.
Fourth in the same race last year before winning the Group I VRC Turnbull Stakes and finishing second in the Cox Plate, the Paul Beshara trained seven year-old charged to the line to be beaten half a head by Foreteller.
“He's on track,” said his rider Michael Rodd.
“This race last year, he ran fantastic and he's done it again today.”
An $11,000 purchase for his trainer from the Mill Park draft at the 2009 Magic Millions Yearling Sale in Adelaide, Happy Trails has the overall record six wins and 14 placings from 41 starts with prizemoney of $2.1 million.
One of seven stakes-winners by Cornerstone Stud based sire Good Journey (USA), Happy Trails was raised at Mill Park for his breeders Brenton and Liz Parker and is the second foal of the Perugino (USA) mare Madame Flurry, a half-sister to stakes-winner Lake Villa and to the dam of Group III winner Royal Sash.
Madame Flurry has a yearling colt by Bernardini (USA) and was covered last spring by All Too Hard.
