St. Lewis sets sights on another unlikely upset with Informative in Woodward
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Four years ago, trainer Uriah St. Lewis pulled off an improbable upset when Discreet Lover won the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at 45-1, beating the likes of Diversify, Mendelssohn and Thunder Road.
In 2019, St. Lewis won the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at Parx with 50-1 Adventist. Last year, the St. Lewis-trained Informative won Monmouth Park’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile at 79-1. In August, Informative pulled another upset at Monmouth, taking the Grade 3 Iselin Stakes at odds of 14-1.
Saturday, St. Lewis is back to try and slay another dragon when he sends Informative out against the beast that is Life Is Good in the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct. St. Lewis is not lacking confidence.
“I think I can beat that horse,” St. Lewis said. “I always shoot for the sky. I just think my horse is doing so good right now. I think I can beat Life Is Good. It’ll be a tough task.”
Indeed.
Life Is Good, a winner of eight of 10 starts including three Grade 1’s, figures to be an overwhelming favorite – perhaps as low as 1-20 - in a field of five entered Wednesday for the Woodward Stakes.
Life Is Good, trained by Todd Pletcher, is 3 for 4 this year, with victories in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup, the Grade 2 John Nerud and, most recently, the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga. Life Is Good drew the rail for the Woodward and figures to be well clear under Irad Ortiz Jr. if he breaks cleanly.
St. Lewis is hoping a horse like Thomas Shelby can put just enough pressure on Life Is Good to give his horse a chance.
Informative, a 5-year-old son of Bodemeister, ran 12 times in 2021. St. Lewis has given Informative a less-hectic schedule in 2022 with the Woodward to be his fifth start of the year.
“We were running him too much,” St. Lewis said. “Once every six weeks, maybe eight races for the year. He’s a different horse since we’ve been doing that.”
Informative drew post 5 and will be ridden by Dexter Haddock. In between Life Is Good and Informative will be Law Professor, Thomas Shelby and Keepmeinmind.
The Woodward will be carded as race 7 on an 11-race card that begins at 1 p.m.
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