HAPPY
FLEET 
7 year old bay mare - by Beat All, out of Fleeting Affair
Happy Fleet is from a very successful family, and her dam has produced multiple winners. Seven have won on flat and five over jumps, including Trump (12 wins) and Rudi Knight (6 wins). Her full brother, Alexander Beetle recently made an impressive winning bumper debut for Henrietta Knight.
NOW FULLY SUBSCRIBED
CAREER SO FAR
After apparently thinking "not Kempton again" before the race, Happy Fleet returns to the winner's enclosure thinking, "Wha-hey, Kempton."
July 2010: She made her comeback from a few months off at Uttoxeter, and had the misfortune to get tangled up with a slightly reluctant rival at the start. She got the worst of it, but jockey Hadden Frost nursed her back into the race by three hurdles from the finish, but the effort and time off told and she lost a few places late on. The race should have put her spot on.
February 2010: 28/2/10 - Kempton, 2m handicap. Dane was suspended for this, but recommended Fergus Sweeney as the right style of jockey for Happy Fleet, and they so nearly pulled it off. Having avoided some argy-bargy on the far side, but lost a bit of position in doing so, Happy Fleet got back into the race and as the winner went for home, she drew alongside him. A furlong out it was 50/50, but in the last 100 metres, the victor just edged away from her again, having definitely had a luckier run. She got a nice write up in the Racing Post's weekly ones to keep an eye on as well.
8/2/10 - Wolverhampton, 1m 4f maiden. Before the race, Dane O'Neill thought the going would be too slow for Happy Fleet. She was slowly away again and was held up on the inside. She was pulled out a bit and made headway into 6th and stayed on. She was beaten by horses rated 70, 66, 72, and 70. It will be interesting to see what handicap mark she given next week.
January 2010: 27/1/10 - 1m 3f Maiden. Happy Fleet was slowly away again and pulled a bit too much. She was settled near the rear and not ridden until the last 3f, where she was pulled out towards the middle of the track and made good headway running to the line and finishing 3rd, with 156-rated chaser Fix The Rib in second. The surface and the steady pace suited her. One more race now to get a handicap mark.
January 2010: 14/1/10 - 1m 4f Maiden. Due to the weather and the NH abandonments it was decided to try Happy Fleet on the A/W to keep her ticking over. She had some stalls schooling and went in ok but was slow coming out! It was a cold, grey day at Lingfield with snow on the ground. Happy Fleet went into the stalls with no problems but was slowly away. She stayed in the rear and made some progress . When pulled out 5 wide she got up to fifth but faded 2f out but ran to the line finishing sixth. This was a reasonable first run bearing in mind that she could have done with a bit more work and this was her first experience of the hurly burly of the A/W. Things happen a lot quicker than in a hurdles race. The second horse, Cozy Tiger had been off for 352 days with back problems and has come out and won at Southwell. Happy Fleet will have a few more runs on the A/W until we get suitable ground for hurdling.
December 2009: 17/12/09 - 2m Handicap Hurdle. Ridden by Chloe Boxall, pulled up two out. It is now looking certain that easy, winter going does not suit Happy Fleet at all, so her hurdles career is to be put on hold until the summer. However, as she has been working so well, she will probably have a dab at the flat, on the all-weather.
November 2009: 30/11/09 - 2m7f Handicap Hurdle. Ridden by Mark Grant, pulled up two out After being ensured by the Clerk of the Course that the going was Good/Good to Soft, Happy Fleet embarked on a nine hour round trip to Fakenham. On arrival, in pouring rain, it was obvious to all that the going was in fact very soft. It was decided to let her run, with instructions to Mark to do whatever he seemed fit. Happy started in the rear and made some headway. At around the 2m mark she was in 5th. She seemed a bit bemused to be asked to go round a third time and was eventually pulled up. The ground and distance were against her but she was willing enough.
Dawn, herself contemplating what actually makes a burger divine, tries to prevent Happy Fleet from ordering a pre-race hot dog (no onions, extra carrots)
August 2009: Our heroine has posted a couple of promising runs in recent months, which was all the more creditable as it emerged that she had been rather under the weather at the time. Happy Fleet ran a solid race in a novice hurdle at Newton Abbot in Spring, just failing to summon up the energy to gallop all the way to the line. Then in July, she contested a decent looking race at Market Rasen, and a long way out seemed to have only the red hot favourite as a potential threat, but not being in full bloom, so to speak, meant that her gas tank emptied quickly and she was fifth. Since that July run, she has been receiving treatment and will hopefully be right got a run in early-September.
May 2009: Happy Fleet started out with a run over hurdles in Ireland, in which she was running a sound debut, only for it all to go wrong when she was hampered at the last and got rid of her rider. That rather spoilt her enjoyment of the day, and she was subsequently able to exploit the rule in Ireland that allows hurdlers to revert to bumpers, and she posted two very good efforts in races of a decent quality. Since she came to Britain, Happy Fleet has been nursed along slowly, building up her hurdling confidence, and it has be learned along the way that she does not act on soft ground. When the sun came out, she ran at Newton Abbot when not quite fit enough to do herself justice, and jockey Mark Bradburne reported that she was a "really nice mare" and that with a run under her belt she would have been threatening to win the race.
Follow this link to see Happy Fleet's career in the Racing Post form database: RACING POST FORM
