Lisa Photo

John Campbell steered Laughandbehappy to victory in the $53,000 White Ruffles Final.

Hours after welcoming a new grandson into the family, Campbell steered Laughandbehappy to victory in the $53,000 White Ruffles Final. The mare cleared the lead from Jawjackin before the half and accelerated away to a 2-1/2 length victory in 1:53.3. Balasun and Bryan’s Ideal were a distanced second and third, respectively. Sent off the 1-2 favorite in a field scratched down to seven starters, Laughandbehappy paid $3 to win.

“The racing style is something to adapt to here, she just can’t go to the front all the time,” Campbell noted of the Midwest shipper. “She’s gotten stronger every start. She’s a little lazy on the front, but responds when you ask her. Once Yannick [Gingras and Jawjackin] got to the front, I thought I could get back to the front without using her too hard. I was sure she would race well on the front and she performed as I expected her to.

“I think she’s going to get better because she’s always pacing down to the wire,” he added. “For as many starts as she’s had, she’s a little bit green. She’s just figuring things out, but she doesn’t get tired, which is an important quality to have at the Meadowlands.”