Gorilla Glue Makes Late Run Stick in Runhappy

By Nynl Stables on May 11, 2024

Runhappy (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
AQU- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
May 11, 2024

Gorilla Glue wasn’t given much of a chance by the betting public, going off at odds of 21/1, making him the second longest shot on the board. We didn’t have him in our picks either, but the gelding stepped up and showed his good side en route to a win by a length. He had come into the race off of a fifth-place effort in the Grade 3 Commonwealth which may have been one of those performances that looked better to watch how it went down instead of just looking at the line in the program. It’s arguably the biggest win of his career (since the ungraded Perryville did go for a bigger purse) and the first win in the Runhappy for Maxmillion Farm. Jockey K Carmouche is a two-time winner, as he was part of the dead heat last year. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:08.47, which can’t really be compared to the prior editions of the race which were held at BEL, but it would be a stake record if it were at the same track. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :21.97)- Knoblauch is the quickest of them all out of the gate, and the Angelos Stable entry will hold a length lead down the backstretch. The reigning BC Sprint champion from Martyparty, West Coast Party, ran in the second spot, a length ahead of a group of five that were spread out across the track. Natural Instinct had the rail for this group and ran third, slightly ahead of Gdp Inc’s Polymath. Then came Quality Road and Indiscretion, trained by D J C Racing Stables and John Henry respectively, and Asgar’s Long Capo being within a half-length. The remaining three are right behind them, this is where we find our eventual winner for Maxmillion farm, Gorilla Glue. He runs on the rail with Disciplinary (Nakamura Stables) right beside him and Plan To Wheel (Fractious) on the outside.

(½ Mile- :44.99, Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Knoblauch hangs on to the lead around the turn and hopes to hang on in the stretch but he has West Coast Party getting closer on his outside. Natural Instinct had some room to come through on the rail if he wanted too, though jockey M Franco seemed a bit indecisive in the turn about what lane he wanted. Indiscretion took the long way around the turn, but still ran fourth and running nearby to his inside were Polymath and Quality Road. Meanwhile Gorilla Glue was looking to come through on the rail as well, but the indecision of Natural Instinct may have prevented him from making a run sooner. Meanwhile, Long Capo was another that was caught out wide while Disciplinary and Plan To Wheel looked for lanes.

(Finish- 1:08.47)- Early in the stretch, Natural Instinct took advantage of the room on the rail and passed both Knoblauch and West Coast Party quickly and easily. But his work was not done, because Gorilla Glue was also making a strong run, and it would not matter that he could not use the rail, because an opening would be created right in front of him as Knoblauch moved over a lane. That was great news for Gorilla Glue, and in the final furlong, he was clearly the best horse and there was nothing that Natural Instinct could do about it. Gorilla Glue ran very well to the wire and would end up getting the win by a length! Natural Instinct was the same distance ahead of third place Knoblauch, who held off West Coast Party and Disciplinary for that position. The rest of the order will read Long Capo, Plan To Wheel, Indiscretion, Polymath and Quality Road.

About The Winner- Gorilla Glue, trained by Maxmillion Farm and ridden to victory by K Carmouche, is a four-year-old gelding by A Chance Mating and is out of Inspector Chic. He was bred by Greeko Holdem in British Columbia as a second quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Maxmillion Farm for $60.000 in a September 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 16 starts, his third stake win and first graded win. His career earnings are now $550.560.

##	Horse Name	Owner Name	Jockey	Odds	Fin	Time	SRF
1	Gorilla Glue	Maxmillion Farm	Carmouche K	21.00	1¹	1:08.47
2	Natural Instinct	Mb Stables	Franco M	6.60	2¹	1:08.67
6	Knoblauch	Angelos Stable	Davis D	4.45	3^nk	1:09.04
11	West Coast Party	Martyparty	Velazquez J R	3.20	4^hd	1:09.10
4	Disciplinary	Nakamura Stables	Lezcano J	7.40	5^nk	1:09.14
7	Long Capo	Asgar	Luzzi L J	4.55	6^no	1:09.20
8	Plan To Wheel	Fractious	Centeno D E	6.90	7^3/4	1:09.22
9	Indiscretion	John Henry	Gutierrez Mario	12.00	8^nk	1:09.38
3	Polymath	Gdp Inc	Saez L	167.55	9^no	1:09.43
5	Quality Road	D J C Racing Stables	Pennington F	12.45	10	1:09.44