Happy Clapper retired after stellar career with Pat Webster
Trainer Pat Webster admits Happy Clapper changed his life and he couldn’t be more proud of the gelding’s career, which included giving champion mare Winx a few frights.
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Happy Clapper raced in the shadow of all-time great Winx but still made a name for himself on the racetrack.
A fan favourite, “The Clapper” was one of the most popular racehorses of the modern era so it was a shame his final race, when unplaced in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes last Saturday, was before an empty Royal Randwick grandstand due to coronavirus protocols.
This is in stark contrast to Winx’s farewell in the same race last year when a crowd of 43,833 was on track to watch the champion mare retire with her 33rd consecutive win.
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After Happy Clapper ran only seventh behind English raider Addeybb last Saturday, trainer Pat Webster and owner-breeder Michael Thomas mutually agreed to retire the nine-year-old gelding.
“Happy Clapper is getting older and a bit slower,’’ Thomas said. “There is nothing you can do about that, it is nature. But he is happy and healthy, actually it’s probably the healthiest he has ever been – it’s just time.’’
Webster had trained at Randwick for more than 50 years and never had a Group 1 winner until Happy Clapper won the 2017 Epsom Handicap. He also won the 2018 Doncaster Mile and Canterbury Stakes at the top level.
“I’m only a small trainer with six or seven horses in work so you never dream of getting a horse like Happy Clapper,’’ Webster said.
“He has been in my stable for nearly seven years, that’s a long time for a racehorse. We nursed him back to fitness after he bowed a tendon and never over-raced him each preparation.
“I think that helped him to remain competitive against the top horses all these years.’’
Webster said Happy Clapper was a “gentle giant” but he did have a quirky nature.
“He was a funny horse because even as a nine-year-old, he just wanted to be kept to his routine,’’ the trainer said.
“Every morning at Randwick, he is the first horse out onto the track just before 4am. If another horse was saddled up before him, he would start kicking the stable door and letting everyone know about it.’’
Happy Clapper would have been rated a champion in any other era but he had to race against the mighty mare Winx, finishing second to her in five feature races.
“I’ve never felt like it was unfortunate timing he was racing during Winx’s era, it was a privilege to run second to her because she is probably the greatest we have ever seen,’’ Webster said.
Happy Clapper was my champion and my war horse. I knew every time we went to battle what I had underneath me. A courageous beast that never took a backward step. Thanks for the memories you gave us all Happy Clapper. I hope I find another as good as you! #happyretirement 💙 pic.twitter.com/wBruVnD6BU
— Blake Shinn (@blake_shinn) April 12, 2020
“She was too good for ‘The Clapper’ but he never stopped trying, he gave her a fright a couple of times and the prizemoney for running second was pretty good.
“For my wife, Chrissie, and I, we owe everything to ‘The Clapper’ – he’s changed our lives.’’
Happy Clapper retires as the winner of 12 races and more than $7.3 million prizemoney to be ranked 11th on the list of Australian racing’s all-time leading stakes earners.
Thomas has found a good home for Happy Clapper to live out his days on the property of retired jockey, Malcolm Fitzgerald.
“My family doesn’t know a lot about horse racing and now that we have retired him, they just think I can go out and find another one like him,’’ Thomas said.
“They don’t understand Happy Clapper was a once in a lifetime horse.’’
AUSTRALIA’S ALL-TIME LEADING PRIZEMONEY EARNERS
1 Winx $26,451,174
2 Redzel $16,414,000
3 Makybe Diva $14,526,690
4 Sunline $11,351,610
5 Northerly $9,341,850
6 Chautauqua $8,821,935
7 So You Think $8,813,497
8 Black Caviar $7,953,936
9 Santa Ana Lane $7,721,336
10 Hartnell $7,469,499
11 HAPPY CLAPPER $7,307,800
12 Buffering $7,300,194
THE STATS
HAPPY CLAPPER
Teofilo-Busking
Trainer: Pat Webster
Record: 48 starts; 12-12-6
Group 1 wins: 3 (2018 Doncaster Mile, 2018 Canterbury Stakes, 2017 Epsom Handicap)
Originally published as Happy Clapper retired after stellar career with Pat Webster