NBC BROADCAST: They’re off in the Kentucky Derby! Renegade getting bunched about on the inside, he did get in a little bit of traffic. Wonder Dean goes out to the front with Six Speed on the outside, and Danon Bourbon is up close with So Happy as well. So it’s these four to set the pace, then Emerging Market ...
MARK BRODIE: That was this year’s Kentucky Derby, as heard on NBC. One of the horses getting out to a fast start there was So Happy; he ultimately finished ninth.
But for my next guest, Hans and Ana Maron, the experience was still a thrill. They live in Chandler and own racehorses, including So Happy; they race under the Saints or Sinners banner. It was also the first horse trainer Mark Glatt had brought to the Derby — and it came a few months after his wife had passed away.
I caught up with Hans and Ana Maron earlier and asked what it meant for him to have a horse racing at the Kentucky Derby.
HANS MARON: Well, I mean, everybody dreams of winning the Kentucky Derby. I — it wasn’t my first dream I — just because I didn’t want to have too far of a lofty goal. I kind of opened up to the Breeders’ Cup just because more, you know, you could have an older horse or a younger horse get in.
With the Kentucky Derby, it’s just so difficult — the window of time to have a 3-year-old ready to go a mile and a quarter is just a really difficult task. So having a horse that, that was — ended up being the second favorite was amazing.
MARK BRODIE: Ana, what was it like watching So Happy race at the Kentucky Derby?
ANA MARON: Oh, it was so unreal. Like, it’s you don’t even feel like you’re there. I think it’s one of those moments what you feel like not until the next day you go, "Oh my God, we did all that." All that in reference to we were owners of a Kentucky Derby horse. And watching him race, of course I was nervous, I was nervous before, that’s usually my way of how I deal with racing and any level of horse racing. But when he was making his turn, his second turn over and he was like second, I thought, "Oh, we got this. ... I really thought we had it." And then we saw it slip away and by then I knew there was no chance we could make it. So I kind of settled down and realized it wasn’t our time.
MARK BRODIE: Hans, was that a letdown to have a horse that was favored to do pretty well and in the end didn’t do as well as you had hoped?
HANS MARON: Yeah, I mean, whenever you lose, you’re a little disappointed. But the reality was the race didn't — the flow of the race wasn’t exactly what we had, you know, imagined in our own heads and you never know when, you know, 18 horses were out there. The flow of the race was a little faster than we had hoped, and So Happy just broke away running and got a little close up a little near to the pace than what we would have hoped.
But in reality, watching the race a few times afterwards — or 100 times afterwards — you know, he gave his best and it just wasn’t good enough on that day. But I will say he handled himself beautifully all week and he’ll be back stronger than ever.
MARK BRODIE: So Hans, you’ve watched the race since it was run?
HANS MARON: Oh, many times. Yes.
MARK BRODIE: How come?
HANS MARON: Just to realize, you know, what really transpired. I mean, in the moment, things were moving so fast and, you know, sure you’re focused on your horse, but once you got to see how the race unfolded. At first — I mean to be honest, the, after about the quarter pole ... the first quarter mile going 22 seconds-plus, I knew we were in a little bit of trouble. It wasn’t exactly where I imagined that we would be sitting.
But at the same time Mike had a split-second decision to make, and if he didn’t go because the horse broke so well, you take the risk of a bunch of horses coming on top of you and squeezing you, you know, down towards the rail. And when you’ve ran in shorter fields, you may not be prepared for what that pressure that was created.
Unfortunately, we just never got a break in the race. I mean we were in great position, you know, turning for home you could think we were live, but in my heart I kind of knew we went too fast too early.
MARK BRODIE: Interesting. Ana, tell me a little bit about So Happy, like what is he like?
ANA MARON: Ah, he is literally always very happy. When we started see ... after we bought him, we had him at Santa Anita. And we always, you know, we live in Chandler and whenever they race we just go over to the races at Santa Anita. And, you know, we have races and then we always go to the barn to kind of see all our horses that we have with Mark Glatt, and he’s always just seriously just so happy.
And I, right before we, after the Santa Anita Derby, I remember talking to his groom, Alfonso. And I remember asking Alfonso, you know, "Just tell me what he’s like." And I was kind of playing your part, I was being the interviewer. And I said, "Tell us," and I remember just filming it. And he says, "He’s just this way all the time. He’s just always so happy. His name suits him." And so I asked him a little bit more about his daily routine and what he likes and he goes, "He loves carrots. He just loves to eat. He’s always happy and loves to eat."
MARK BRODIE: So Hans, what is next for So Happy? Like, is there a chance he could run another high-stakes, big-time race?
HANS MARON: Oh, absolutely. It’s just a matter of where we choose to go. Obviously we’re not going to the Preakness, it was two weeks apart, he did have a little bit of a superficial wound on the back of his leg that occurred late in the race — it didn’t affect the race whatsoever.
But we just decided to fly him back to California and he’s in his stall, he’s in his happy place. And we’ll go back at it here in the next couple weeks, and then we’ll start picking out spots and what’s next for him.
MARK BRODIE: Am I right that you had a pretty significant offer to buy this horse? Like, shortly before the Derby?
HANS MARON: Sure. We did. Yes.
MARK BRODIE: And you decided not to. Is that off the table now? Like are you potentially looking to sell him?
ANA MARON: No.
HANS MARON: No. No, we never put it out there that we were interested, but obviously as you get closer to the Derby, people want to be a part of it and the monetary side of it’s not really that important to those individuals. But we just, again, we decided that the horse was and and the journey for us was more important than dollars.
ANA MARON: Yeah. I remember telling Hans, "Will more money make us happy?" He said yes. No, I’m kidding. He — I said, "You know, this is a dream that he’s actually always sought in the way in a sense of succeeding, doing well in horse racing." And I said, "Here’s your opportunity, why would we, you know, bring in a third party just so they can say they have a horse in the Derby?"
What it takes to get to where we got, in my opinion, is very hard to do as horse owners. And you can’t — in my opinion — you can’t just buy your way in. You didn’t go through the trials and errors of years of buying horses like we have and we currently have 45 racehorses. And, you know, some make it to the racetrack some never make it to — you know, that hardship that hurts like in your heart aches when you buy a horse you can’t get to it to even race. You know, you go through this as owners, and somebody to come in and just throw money at us, that was just for me it was not appealing.
For Hans, he did also state that, you know, Mark Glatt was going through a really difficult time, I’m sure you know, with his wife passing. And what if we got into a third person giving him grief, you know, blaming him for if the horse didn’t win? You know, we just didn’t want those dynamics to ever come into play and ruin the fun for all of us.
MARK BRODIE: All right. Well, Hans, Ana, thank you so much for taking the time to chat and good luck with the horses going forward.
ANA MARON: Thank you. Thank you so much, Mark.
HANS MARON: Appreciate it.
MARK BRODIE: Ana and Hans Maron are the owners of the racehorse So Happy, which competed at the Kentucky Derby.
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