Officiating ready to rule G3 Runhappy

Vegso Racing Stable’s multiple graded stakes-winner Officiating will look to return to winning form in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Runhappy, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Belmont Park.

The Runhappy, slated as Race 5, tops a lucrative card which boasts five graded stakes, including the Grade 1, $700,000 Man o’ War in Race 8; the Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan in Race 9; the Grade 3, $150,000 Beaugay in Race 10; and the Grade 3, $150,000 Vagrancy in Race 3.

Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., the 4-year-old Blame colt romped to a 5 1/2-length victory at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap on March 5 over returning rival Chateau, but faltered to fourth last out in the six-furlong Sprint on March 27 at Tampa Bay Downs.

“I think I ran him back a little too quick last time in that Florida-bred race at Tampa,” Joseph, Jr. said. “We’re looking forward to getting him back to New York where he ran good last time and hopefully he’ll follow suit again.”

Officiating won the seven-furlong Grade 3 Mr. Prospector in December at Gulfstream Park, besting older horses by three-quarters of a length in the final start of his sophomore campaign. He followed by completing the trifecta behind the victorious Speaker’s Corner and runner-up Fearless in the one-mile Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper in his seasonal debut on January 29 at the Hallandale Beach, Florida oval.