Northern California notes: Life Is a Joy's win in Charlie Palmer leaves Mawing impressed

“I definitely want to stay with this horse,” Leslie Mawing said after guiding Life Is a Joy to his third straight victory in the Charlie Palmer Futurity on Saturday at the Big Fresno Fair.

What’s not to like?

Life Is a Joy won the one-mile race for 2-year-olds as he had won his previous two races – on the lead. He won his debut Aug. 17 at Golden Gate Fields and a Sept. 8 allowance race there. Both of those races were at six furlongs.

On Saturday, Life Is a Joy dominated the race, winning by six lengths after his Jerry Hollendorfer stablemate Hirschy pulled within a head of him at the quarter pole. Hirschy finished 5 1/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher El Sacrificio.

Although Life Is a Joy won in wire-to-wire style, Mawing says he’s far from a speed-crazy young horse.

“He’s very versatile,” Mawing said. “He doesn’t need to be on the lead. If someone had wanted the lead, I wouldn’t have worried. He worked and got the lead, then slowed things down.”

Mawing has always liked the Globalize gelding.

“I fell in love the first time I got on him,” he said. “When he was first starting out I got on him and another for Jerry and told him both would be good. The other one went to Del Mar and won down there.”

There have been many runners who have won three straight to start their career, but Mawing doesn’t see Life Is a Joy as simply a precocious youngster who developed quicker than his rivals.

“He’s a nice horse,” Mawing said. “He’s always shown maturity, but he has a lot of raw talent. After the first race, the light really switched on for him.”

Mawing said the Fresno track seemed to be dead on the inside, so he tried to keep Life Is a Joy a bit wide. He stayed wide even as Hirschy and jockey Russell Baze loomed into contention.

“I didn’t want to be stuck on the rail,” he said. “I had Russell on the inside, and I swung a bit wide into the lane.”

When asked, Life Is a Joy turned in a 24.78-second final quarter, which might have been faster had Mawing asked him for anything.

The future could be bright – at least in Northern California – for Life Is a Joy. His Beyer Speed Figure has increased from 57 in his debut to 65 to 73 in his stakes victory.

He was bred in California by Hollendorfer, his wife, Janet, and their top client, George Todaro. He is the third foal from the Indian Charlie mare Tadita and is a full brother of Life Is a Rock, who was stakes placed on the turf. His full sister Life Is a Stone is stakes placed on the turf.

Mawing isn’t sure what’s next for Life Is a Joy, but the gelding is a California-bred from a turf-loving family, which gives him plenty of options.

And Mawing wants to go along for the ride.

Baze admitted the best horse won Saturday, but he’s not discouraged by Hirschy’s performance.

He wound up stalking the pace in second with Mondai Mondai just outside him. Still, Baze said his mount relaxed well.

“He’s going to get better,” Baze said.

Positive Response eyes Bull Dog

Positive Response, who won the County of Alameda Handicap at Pleasanton and the Rolling Green on the turf at Golden Gate Fields in his last start, will seek his third stakes win of the year in Sunday’s $75,000 Bull Dog Handicap at the Big Fresno Fair.

Sixteen were nominated to the 1 1/8-mile race, including 2013 stakes winners Fire With Fire and Summer Hit; Tribal Tribute, who has hit the board in three straight stakes; Hudson Landing, who is still looking for his first win of the year; and the graded-stakes-placed runners Administer and Batti Man.

Solid Stockton meet

The San Joaquin County Fair meet at Stockton did well at the mutuel windows according to track figures, even though it lost a half-day of Thoroughbred racing to rain and was really a 5 1/2-day meet instead of a six-day meet. The 2012 meet ran eight days.

The daily all-sources handle was $839,070, compared to $744,324 last year, a 13 percent increase. The daily ontrack live handle averaged $157,750, compared to $130,312 last year, a 22 percent increase. Average daily out-of-state handle increased 18 percent.