2021 Breeders' Cup: Life Is Good among bunch of workers out to beat the storm
ELMONT, N.Y. – On the nine-year anniversary of Super Storm Sandy hitting the Northeast, another storm of much less consequence was forecast to hit Long Island late Friday, likely making for sloppy and soft conditions at Belmont Park on Saturday.
Thus, many New York-based horsemen were forced to alter their training schedules, moving up by a day their final breezes for horses bound for the Breeders’ Cup, to be run next Friday and Saturday at Del Mar. A total of 21 horses bound for California put in workouts Friday morning over three different tracks at Belmont Park.
If they were awarding stars for the morning drills, the gold one would go to Life Is Good, the 3-year-old headed for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. The once-beaten colt worked a half-mile in 48.59 seconds over the training track, but galloped out like a train in 1:01.09, 1:12.95 and 1:26.38 – and that’s with exercise rider Amelia Green barely moving her hands.
“Doing something like that totally effortless with a snug hold from the rider, I don’t know what he’d do if you cut him loose,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Pletcher also sent out Mind Control on Friday for his final breeze for the Dirt Mile. Under John Velazquez, Mind Control went four furlongs in 49.89 seconds, with an opening quarter of 24.50, and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.96.
“He went off a little bit ambitiously, then he got into a good rhythm and settled down,” Pletcher said. “It was a good maintenance work.”
Following Sea, who is still not committed to the Sprint, worked a half-mile in 49.08 seconds in the dark. Pletcher and the management team of Following Sea’s owner, Spendthrift Farm, are deciding between the BC Sprint or waiting for the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Dec. 4 as they attempt to win a Grade 1 with the Runhappy colt, who won the Grade 2 Vosburgh in his last start.
“The horse has done everything so well since the Vosburgh,” Pletcher said. “He’s certainly making us take a hard look at it.”
Pletcher said Velazquez would ride Following Sea should he run in the Sprint.
The last Breeders’ Cup worker of the morning was Malathaat, the leading 3-year-old filly in the country, who went five furlongs in 1:01.16 with Vindictive, a 3-year-old colt who is 2 for 4. Malathaat galloped out in 1:14.38 and 1:26.87 with her company right alongside.
“She came back, was not blowing at all,” Pletcher said. “She’s a fit horse. Now she’s just got to work out a good trip.”
Chad Brown worked 11 of his 14 prospective Breeders’ Cup starters on Friday. Eight of those works came on the turf, which the New York Racing Association opened up Friday morning exclusively for Breeders’ Cup horses.
Domestic Spending and Tribhuvan, both bound for the $4 million Turf, went five furlongs in 1:02, getting their last three furlongs in 35.98 seconds. Domestic Spending started about a length off Tribhuvan and finished evenly with him. Like last week, Tribhuvan was strong on the inside.
Domestic Spending will enter the Turf having not run since a second-place finish in the Mister D Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 14.
“The horse is doing super,” Brown said. “I’m not worried about the layoff in the least.”
Brown’s third Turf contender is Rockemperor, who went a half-mile in 50.73 seconds, with a last quarter in 24.17.
“Couldn’t have possibly worked any better,” Brown said.
The turf course was rated good and orange cones were up, keeping horses way off the inside paths of the course.
My Sister Nat and Pocket Square, Brown’s two entrants for the Filly and Mare Turf, got their last three furlongs in 36.03 seconds of a five-furlong move in 1:01.90.
Raging Bull (Mile) went a half-mile in 52.37 seconds, just stretching his legs after having worked last Sunday.
Portfolio Company (Juvenile Turf) and Consumer Spending (Juvenile Fillies Turf) went five furlongs in 1:03.16, with Portfolio Company looking particularly sharp.
Consumer Spending is better on firm turf, Brown said.
“The colt’s a little strong for her,” he said. “She did what she needed to do.”
Verbal, who is on the cusp of getting into the Juvenile Turf, worked a half-mile in 50.19 seconds on dirt.
Jack Christopher, the potential Juvenile favorite, went five furlongs in 1:00.89 in company with Grade 1 Frizette runner-up Gerrymander. Jose Ortiz was aboard Jack Christopher, who got his last quarter in 24.75 seconds and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.99 and seven furlongs in 1:28.74.
“He worked super,” Brown said.
Royal Flag, the Beldame winner who is pointing to the Distaff, went five furlongs by herself in 1:01.55 a few moments later, getting her last quarter in 23.46.
Christophe Clement sent three of his four Breeders’ Cup horses out over the turf course for, more or less, leg stretchers. Gufo (Turf) went a half-mile in 54.91 seconds, Slipstream (Juvenile Turf) went a half-mile in 51.55 seconds, and Pizza Bianca (Juvenile Fillies Turf) went a half-mile in 54.51 seconds.
“All my guys are fit,” Clement said. “They’re shipping on Sunday, I don’t like to breeze aggressively and fly two days later, so all of them started like a two-minute luck and finish on the bridle. As long as they stretched their legs from the quarter pole to the wire I’m happy.”
Also working Friday on turf were Sail By (Juvenile Fillies Turf), who went a half-mile in 54.78 seconds with her final quarter in 23.78, and Bubble Rock (Juvenile Fillies Turf), who went a half-mile in 49.70 seconds.
Firenze Fire, preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, blew out three furlongs in 35.35 seconds over the training track.
All of the New York-based Breeders’ Cup horses were booked on a Federal Express flight out of Newark, N.J., on Sunday.