Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes, one mile, Santa Anita, Jan. 2, 2021 (10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth) Winner: Life Is Good, by Into Mischief Trainer: Bob Baffert Jockey: Mike Smith Owner: CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm Beyer Speed Figure: 101 For a small field with an overwhelming favorite, there’s a lot to unpack here. LIFE IS GOOD, highly touted before his debut at Del Mar on Nov. 22, made it two wins in two starts by capturing this race, his first around two turns and first against winners. Over a track that produced moderate times all day, his raw clocking earned a strong Beyer figure. But his margin was diminishing in the closing yards, as stablemate MEDINA SPIRIT made it close. It was another 13 lengths back to PARNELLI, underscoring how well the top two ran. Life Is Good’s career to this point is eerily reminiscent of Authentic, another Baffert-trained colt by Into Mischief who won sprinting in his debut during the fall meet at Del Mar, then won the Sham in his second start while also looking like extra distance might be problematic. He subsequently more than proved he could handle 1 1/4 miles, so for those – ahem – who discounted his chances last year, perhaps a rush to judgment second time around would be rash. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2021: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more In fact, I like this colt, a lot. There’s no more dangerous weapon than early speed that rivals can’t match – see Seattle Slew, Spend a Buck, etc. - and he has that in abundance. He was breezing along on the lead, and though he took nearly 26 seconds to complete the final quarter-mile, the pace was fast for the level, and there was no reason to beat him up to win by more. This was a means to an end. It was only his second start. The Derby is still four months away. Nothing would have been gained by getting to the bottom of him now. There’s time for that later. What will be interesting to watch is how Life Is Good progresses mentally. His last two works leading up to this race were a study in contrasts. In his penultimate drill, he was way too aggressive and didn’t finish off the work as designed. But in his final work, he was brilliant. Baffert told me after his debut that he chose Smith because he needed an experienced rider who could handle a strong horse like this, and that match has proven ideal so far. I don’t know if the extra distance will suit him or not. I do know that he will be in front of every race until someone hauls him in, and if learns to dole out his speed, as Authentic did, he’ll be formidable. In this race, Life Is Good didn’t break sharply, but with his outside post and natural speed he was able to make the top before a furlong had been run. He quickly opened a daylight lead while racing off the rail, with Smith deftly walking the tightrope of having his hands low on Life Is Good’s neck while not throttling him down to the point where the colt ends up tossing his head in resentment. This is subtle, great race-riding that can only be gleaned by years of trial-and-error experience. Life Is Good motored along to the far turn, and when Medina Spirit got a bit closer, Life Is Good effortlessly increased his margin. He changed leads right on cue coming off the bend, and Smith sat on him like he was out for a morning drill until there were 50 yards remaining, at which point he waved the whip in front of Life Is Good’s right eye to keep him focused as Medina Spirit narrowed the gap. Life Is Good galloped out well. He was not at the end of his rope. Medina Spirit, who finished second, also was coming off a debut sprint win for Baffert, but at Los Alamitos. He broke on top from his rail draw, then conceded the lead to his stablemate before a furlong had been run, and was guided off the rail to take up a stalking position. He was asked three furlongs out to go after Life Is Good, but initially made no impact. He did keep to his task, though, and kept grinding away to close the gap on Life Is Good while pulling well clear of everyone else. Parnelli, who was third, bumped UNCLE BOOGIE leaving the gate, then set up shop three paths wide on the first turn while fourth of five. He made a mild run into the far turn as if he was going to make an impact, but only went evenly the final three furlongs as the top two sailed away from him. WASPIRIANT, who was fourth, saved ground around the first turn and was alongside of Medina Spirit, to his inside, turning into the backstretch. He came under a ride nearing the far turn when his John Shirreffs-trained stablemate, Parnelli, moved past him, but he continued to retreat. He was ridden aggressively to hold off Uncle Boogie for fourth while finishing nearly 20 lengths behind the winner. He needs softer. Uncle Boogie, who finished last of five, was bumped by Parnelli leaving the gate, checked, and dropped back to trail while quickly losing contact with the top four. He remained well back throughout while completely overmatched. He still has starter-allowance conditions. That seems realistic.