Happy Knight was a "big, strong, rather coarse" bay colt with a small white star bred in England by his owner William Cooke, a noted huntsman and orchid grower who had established his Wyld Court Stud at Newbury, Berkshire in 1912.
Happy Morn was a great-granddaughter of the influential broodmare Flitters, whose other female-line descendants have included Blenheim, Footstepsinthesand, Power, Westerner and Golden Lilac.
[1] Happy Knight showed little promise as a two-year-old, finishing unplaced on his only start at Newmarket Racecourse but was highly regarded and considered a serious contender for the classics.
[5] Despite an interrupted preparation,[6] Happy Knight was joint-favourite for the Derby with Gulf Stream on the eve of the race[7] but finished unplaced behind Airborne.
In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Happy Knight a "poor" winner of the 2000 Guineas.