So Happy Cruises in Final Workouts; Brant and Potente Eye San Felipe

So Happy closed his final race-week work with a four-furlong move in 46.8 seconds Sunday morning at Santa Anita, ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith as he prepares for his first two-turn test in the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 7. Trained by Mark Glatt, the Runhappy colt out of the Blame mare So Cunning arrives off a Jan. 10 victory in the GII San Vicente going seven furlongs.

Mike Smith was emphatic about the work, first offering a one-word verdict: "Dynamite." He expanded on the drill, saying, "He's never been a flashy work horse in the morning, a bit lazy actually, but this was one of his best works if not the best. He was just cruising. It was all him." On stretching So Happy to two turns for the first time in his career, Smith added, "You never know until they do it. But he's given me every indication in his sprint races that he would do it. I never felt like I was on fumes at the end."

Also on the Santa Anita main track Sunday, Bob Baffert sent out two colts he plans to enter in the San Felipe. Brant worked five furlongs in 59.8 seconds in his final tune-up. The Gun Runner colt, owned by Zedan Racing Stables, is a high-profile $3-million OBS March purchase and arrives with a résumé that includes a win in the GI Del Mar Futurity going seven furlongs and a third-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Oct. 31 at Del Mar. The March 1 drill will be Brant's final prep coming off that Juvenile effort, his first start since the Breeders' Cup.

Potente completed a four-furlong move in 47.4 seconds for Baffert on the same morning. The Into Mischief colt was a $2.4-million Fasig-Tipton yearling purchase and races for Speedway Stable after breaking his maiden in his debut going six furlongs at Santa Anita on Jan. 31. Baffert confirmed Sunday that he planned to enter both Brant and Potente in the Mar. 7 GII San Felipe, while adding that he has not yet decided whether to enter nominees Boyd or Buetane.

The trio of works on March 1 served as the final race-week drills for the San Felipe hopefuls at Santa Anita, with So Happy's move singled out as a targeted, smooth, controlled four-furlong drill by his connections. Ownership for So Happy was not listed in the available reports, and while Mike Smith was aboard for the workout, there is no confirmation in the reports whether he will retain the mount on race day. The San Felipe field will take clearer shape as entries and post positions are finalized ahead of the March 7 card.